Triforce Dreams
by hyliansage
Summary: Legends speak of an artifact, infused with a portion of the Triforce's power, and of a guardian, destined to keep that artifact from harm. But the problem is... are the legends true? Has some Zelink. My first fic!
1. A New Problem Arises

Hi! This is my first attempt at a fic so please please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. If I did then there would be a very nice Zelda movie for everyone to see.

Please remember that not all things that happen in the course of this fic will be true by the last chapter. People may say false or incorrect things; legends may not be real. The character who you think is the "guardian" may not REALLY be the "guardian." There will be hidden motives behind practically everything that occurs. So please, keep that in mind as you read and know that everything will be revealed at the very very end!

**I'm also very much aware that Kira (the girl) will probably sound a bit like a Mary-Sue for the... first 13/14 chapters or so (I wish I could have gotten to a better start for my first fic but, unfortunately, it's not so), but I've now changed that so it's been done for a reason! And hopefully her personality isn't very Mary-Sue-ish... So please, before you decide to lecture me on what Mary-Sues are... allow me to get to that chapter where I'll hopefully be able to change that! And if she still seems like a Mary-Sue after that... Then PLEASE, by all means, tell me how to improve! (And if you can catch them, there are some hints at what happened to her to make her seem like this! Heehee. But I'm not saying where!)**

Oh yeah. One more thing... Thoughts are in italics. Got that? Good. Now let the fic begin!

Chapter 1: A New Problem Arises

The early morning sun illuminated the peaceful land of Hyrule. Zora's River flowed smoothly and Lake Hylia sparkled in the dawn. A figure rode across Hyrule Field with a sword and a staff strapped over her back. From observing the direction in which she was riding, it could be concluded that Hyrule Castle was her destination, or Hyrule Market. Travelers from all over the world visited the merry marketplace. It was said that the town had almost been abandoned four years ago due to a certain incident at the castle, but the problem had been mysteriously solved, and most of the people had either forgotten about it or didn't want to remember it.

With a closer look at the girl's features, it could be said that she was a Hylian, around the age of fourteen, although she wasn't dressed in the traditional long skirts of a Hylian girl. Instead, she was wearing a sleeveless pale blue tunic and underneath, a white short sleeved shirt. Black leather gloves with finger holes covered her hands. Her brown leather boots reached up a few inches from her feet. A shiny curved plate engraved with a Triforce symbol was attached to each boot by four straps - two tied on the boot and two tied around the calf of her leg. The young and spirited gray stallion trotted along at an easy pace, eyeing his rider every once in a while. The girl was staring out into space, her sea green eyes thoughtful. The gentle wind slightly lifted the two thin braids of chestnut brown hair, which immediately regained their positions in front of her ears when the wind died out. The rest of her hair was tied back in a single ponytail, which really was behaving very much like her stallion's tail. A few wisps of hair fell on her face, not long or thick enough to hide the bright eyes which were now glancing back and forth along the field.

"It's too quiet, Areon..." the girl whispered to her mount. "I really don't like this."

The stallion, Areon, snorted in reply.

"No really," she again insisted. "Do you think you could go a little faster?"

Areon bobbed his head a few times, and changed his gait into a canter. As soon as he did this, several skeletons rose from the ground.

"Ahh! Stalchildren! B- But it's daytime! And why are there five of them?" Just as the words left her mouth, five more of the hideous creatures popped out in front. All ten of them moved in with a speed and apparent reasoning ability unnatural for their kind and surrounded the rider and her horse. The girl quickly drew her sword. Bad move. Ten more Stalchildren appeared. Sorely overwhelmed, she scanned the area for a slight opening, found one, and urged Areon towards it, taking off a few heads along the way. But for every Stalchild that bit the dust, two more rose to take its place.

"C'mon Areon. Head for that tree over there. I'll see if I can stay up in the branches so they can't get me. You go get help. OK?" she shouted worriedly over the thundering of hooves and bones.

The stallion swerved to the side to avoid an incoming Stalchild. The skeleton missed and fell to the ground, where it was immediately trampled by its companions. Its body dissolved into black smoke.

_Ahh... That's strange...__ They don't normally do that..._

She sheathed her sword, just as Areon galloped under the previously mentioned tree, giving his rider a split-second chance to grab an overhanging branch. She did so, though she nearly missed her chance, and swung herself into the lush foliage as her horse thundered off in the direction of the castle.

_H- Hurry Areon! I'm counting on you._

The girl gripped the rough bark as tightly as she could and stared down at the gathering Stalchildren in both defiance and fear. "Y- You cowards! You know you can't defeat me in honorable battle so you decide to gang up on me, an orphan girl! Why don't you go bother someone who can fight back?" she screamed asharshly as she could manage, trying to hide the fear welling up in her throat.

The only response she received was hissing from the Stalchildren and an occasional, "Your treasure! We want your treasure!"

"I- I don't have anything that you want! Why... Why don't you just leave me alone?" she shouted, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

Again, all she heard was, "Your treasure! We want your glowing treasure!"

The girl shut her eyes and clutched even more tightly at the bark. "St- Stop it! Stop it! I- I don't have any treasure! The only things that are important to me are my sword, my staff, and-"

She was interrupted by a sudden vibration that forced her to clasp her arms around the trunk. The Stalchildren circled the tree, banging their bony hands on it in an attempt to knock it down. They moved in a synchronized motion, as if dancing, dancing a dance of death. The girl tried to halt their movement by reaching for her staff, but she was quickly forced to abandon the idea when another violent vibration threatened to make her lose her grip on the bark. It would only be a matter of time before the tree toppled.

_Pl- Please Areon! Hurry and find someone!_

A/N: Review... please?


	2. Escape and Discovery

Thanks A LOT to the nice ppl who reviewed... and thank you for the advice Alex, I'll try my best... Last chapter was a bit short I guess so here's a nice longer one... ehehe... Not much fighting in this one but there IS an evil little surprise for Link... Oh and please don't get mad at all the details. Most of them will play some part in the fic and others are just there to help you get "a mental picture"

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I wish I did 'cause of certain evil reasons

Chapter 2: Escape and Discovery

The still-drowsy blond haired hero slowly climbed out of bed. The birds were singing, the bees were buzzing, the sun was shining, and... and... he hated it!

_I was having such a great dream too. Almost about to give the final blow._

Link rummaged around his closet for his favorite tunic... well... one of his favorites. After returning from Termina, Zelda had invited him to stay at the castle. Even though he still preferred his old treehouse more, he had politely accepted the offer, saying that he would spend the summer and fall months at Hyrule Castle and the spring and winter months in the Kokiri Forest. That had been a few years ago. He was fourteen now.

_Three more years 'til I become that awesome hero everyone really respects! _

Link smiled wryly at that thought. Not that anyone remembered it, of course.

He had been trying to gradually get the clothes that his older self had worn. So far, he had the gauntlets - even though they probably had to be lengthened, the tunic - that would have to be lengthened too, the boots - he needed to get larger ones, and the undershirt- well... part of it, Epona had chewed off the sleeves, forcing him to make it a sleeve-LESS shirt instead of a LONG sleeved one. He couldn't find the white hose he had worn seven... no make that three... years into the future... so he just used the green shorts dating back to his younger years - lengthened, of course. (A/N: if you flip the statue of Young Link over in SSBM you can see his green shorts... my friend showed me... I was an unwilling spectator... REALLY!) He quickly slipped on the tunic over his shirt and shorts. He detested nightgowns, and there was no way Zelda was going to make him get that "cute blue one". Link hopped across the cold tiles, trying to get his feet into his boots. He succeeded in stuffing one foot in and was just about to start on the other one when the door slammed open, almost into his head. That resulted in him falling flat on his face and Zelda staring at his position in shock.

"Link, are you alright?" she was trying to hold her laughter, he could tell.

"Yeah... yeah... I'm fine..." grumbled Link, who had finally slipped the other boot on while still lying on the floor.

"My dear Lord Link. What are you doing sprawled on the ground? Shouldn't you be attending to your lordly duties?" Zelda giggled.

"Haha. Very funny. And since when am I a LORD? Did Your Majesty change my status from hero to lord during the night?" Link asked sarcastically.

"You know I'm just kidding Link," said Zelda, helping him up. "Besides, you'll always be the Hero of Time to me."

"Yeah, but it's not like anyone else knows. Everyone just calls me Sir because they don't know what else to call me," he complained.

"At least they respect you. You don't have to sneak into and out of the castle anymore."

"Yeah. I guess. But it's annoying! It's not like I'm a knight or anything." Link walked over to the window and grinned, seeing the Hylian knights busy at their morning exercises, or "circus practice" as he liked to call it.

Zelda giggled again. "And that's a good thing. You really wouldn't look good in armor. That reminds me, I have to give Father some suggestions for that ball we'll be having soon. Don't get into trouble while I'm gone!" Seeing his expression switch from embarrassed to bored, she added, "Maybe you could go and hunt Guays (the crows). I heard that they've been attacking travelers more and more lately."

Link's face brightened considerably at that. "Really? ALRIGHT! Finally something exciting!"

Zelda smiled. "Glad you like that idea. Better get going." She walked out the door and closed it gently behind her.

Once she left, Link went to his closet to grab a few things for Guay hunting. Gilded Sword, Hylian Shield, Fairy's Bow, arrows, Longshot, a random mask for disguise, and a cloak. He slung his sword, shield, bow, and quiver onto his back, tightened his shoulder belt, stuffed the rest of the things into a bag, and headed for the royal kitchens. He grabbed two sandwiches sitting conveniently on a counter, an apple and some carrots from a basket, and left again, unnoticed by the cooks who were busy washing dishes and preparing lunch. They wouldn't miss the apple and carrots, but the sandwiches... well... as for those, no measly cook could insult the princess' private guest for borrowing two simple sandwiches.

Link headed for the royal stables, waving to a few idling soldiers along the way. The stablehand was absent, no doubt watching the knights practice. Link walked quietly to Epona's stall where he was greeted by a whinny. He laughed as the young mare happily licked his face. "Epona! That tickles! Wait 'til I get in!" Opening the gate, Link stepped into the stall, where he was promptly greeted by another round of licking. He gently pushed his horse away and glanced around, checking to make sure everything was in order.

_Well here's royalty for you. Even the horses have their own rooms._

Epona's "room" was dimly lit by a lamp, which, amazingly, had never caused a fire, despite the fact that the ground was completely covered with hay. A saddle hung on a wall, so polished that it reflected the soft light of the lamp. Two shelves with some riding equipment were fixed next to it. A few small crates were scattered around the room, and two buckets, one for water and the other for feed, sat near the high wooden gate.

Link combed Epona with a brush he had found and then fed her a carrot. He watched her gulp it down happily, then sat on a crate to eat his apple while she playfully nibbled his ear. "Hey Epona. Stop that! You know I don't like it!" Obediently, she stopped, then proceeded to push Link off his crate. He sighed and moved to another one, feeding her another carrot to keep her busy.

At first, he wondered why it was so quiet in the stables, but then remembered that most of the horses had been led to the training grounds already. Ever since that "incident" four years ago, the castle knights had been training on horseback once every week and today was that day. Link sometimes went to watch them, but he always left quickly so he wouldn't embarrass himself and the knights by laughing at their often crazy attempts at good horsemanship. He smirked at the thought and tried to imagine the armor-clad knights in a circus, prancing around with huge red noses on dainty little ponies. That was a bit too much for Link, and he burst into laughter, falling off the crate. Epona blinked at her young master, shook her head, walked over to the hay covered Link, and picked him up by his tunic collar.

"Ha... Thanks Epona... I sorta... haha... lost control there... hahahaha..." Epona shook her head again and nuzzled the now calm hero. "Huh? Oh. You wanna go out now?" he asked, shaking out the straw in his hat and hair. The mare bobbed her head eagerly. "Alright then! C'mon girl! Let's go check Hyrule Field for Guays!"

Link saddled up Epona, attached the saddlebags, then put his equipment into them. He had always received a small bit of pride from knowing that he was the only person in the castle capable of riding a horse without a bridle or a saddle. Of course, the latter would be needed today. Link grinned to himself.

_For a guy who doesn't need saddles, I sure get a lot of them._

For each year that he'd lived in the castle, he'd receive at least one set of saddles and bridles. He'd kept all but the one he was using now, an exact duplicate of the one Epona had had in the future, in a trunk in his room.

Finished with his preparations, Link nimbly climbed on Epona's back and gently directed her out of the narrow hall, waving to the entering stablehand who was occupied with leading another horse in.

"I'm going out for a bit, so don't bother fixing Epona's lunch. What's wrong with the horse?" called Link, stopping his mount with a light touch.

"Nothin'. But her rider's gonna be out of commission for a couple weeks. Fell off and twisted his ankle."

Link winced. "Ouch. Poor guy. Was it spectacular?"

"Yeah it was! Ya shoulda seen it. Stopped his horse too fast and flipped over her head. Pretty darn lucky he didn't end up in the mud he were tryin' to jump over if ya ask me."

"Wow... I- sorry. Epona wants to go," Link apologized, taking the mare's irked glances as his cue to end the conversation and leave.

"Well. Good luck gettin' out of the marketplace. It IS Auction Day, after all," the stablehand said as he waved goodbye.

"Thanks!" Link shouted, then mumbled to himself, "What did I get myself into this time?"

Epona whinnied and looked at Link, who swore that she was grinning evilly at him.

Auction Day. The day when everyone in town came to the square to participate in huge sales and celebrations. It was a monthly event and there were always free food and drinks. And crowds, crowds and crowds of screaming girls who all wanted to see, or even better, touch, the "cute blond guy in the castle." Link had to admit that he admired them for their persistency; he'd evaded them for four years now, but still they never tired of trying.

_Good thing I brought a cloak and my Gibdo Mask._

Link retrieved the two items from the saddlebags. He clasped the cloak on first, lowering the hood, and held the mask in his hand so he wouldn't scare the castle gate guard into attacking. He waved to the soldier, who opened the gates and yelled, "Have a safe outing Sir Link!" and then shouted in a friendlier tone, "Good luck Link!"

Link smiled. His little "talk" with the knights appeared to have worked. "You too! If you don't keep those sightseers out, who knows what Princess Zelda will say!" he shouted back, then urged Epona to go faster.

Once he was a good distance from the castle, Link slapped the Gibdo Mask onto his face, drew his hood over his head, and hunched his shoulders, giving himself the appearance of a scarred and mentally unstable old man. And just in time too, for a group of girls soon passed by, mumbling about "sneaking into the castle". Link noticed with pleasure that they gave him a wide berth out of "respect".

This behavior continued as Link trotted Epona through the merry town. He was almost at the drawbridge when a particularly strong gust of wind blew his hood off, revealing his trademark green hat. "IT'S HIM!" a group of girls screamed almost immediately, leading to total chaos. (A/N: hehehe. Fangirls.) A panicked Epona took off with a shocked Link, trailed by a screaming mob, which seemed to grow larger and larger every second. The guard at the drawbridge barely had enough time to dive out of the way before he was crushed by Epona's hooves and the unwanted crazed fans. When Link was certain he was safely out of reach, he turned around, took off his mask, and waved at the disappointed mob, which slowly dissolved, leaving behind a very confused guard.

Freed of his troubles, Link petted Epona on the head to calm her down. He put his cloak and mask away, secured his quiver to his side, and readied his bow. It was a beautiful day for Guay hunting, as the sun had already climbed high into the sky, and the clouds were white and few. It wasn't long before he noticed a couple of black specks circling in the air. Link silently urged his mount toward the dots, and notched an arrow to his bow. The bowstring sang five times, and five bodies fell in quick succession. He was just about to dismount and collect his prizes, but a flash of gray in the corner of his eye changed his plans. Link whirled around and trained his arrow on... a gray horse, which seemed happy to see him.

"Hey there. Are you looking for your master?" asked Link, as the horse sidled up and nosed him in the side. He tentatively reached toward the creature to pet it, and to his surprise, it let him do so for a while, before it took off. "Hey!" Link shouted, as he watched the horse gallop off.

_Wow. It's fast._

But instead of running away, the horse stopped on top of a small hill, as if wanting Link to follow it. The Hero of Time grinned.

_But not as fast as Epona!_

"You want a race? You got one. C'mon Epona! Let's do our Guay hunting later!" Epona took off immediately after the newcomer, which waited for the distance between them to close a bit, then galloped off again.

As Epona speeded after her rival, Link's keen eyes picked out a strange sight in the distance. Something that appeared to be a ring of children dancing around a tree. And they were headed straight for it!

_Maybe this horse belongs to one of the children. No wait... those aren't children._

Link gasped in shock. They were Stalchildren! A large group of Stalchildren in the early noon sun! And there... and there was a girl in the tree!

A/N: Please review! Please! Be kind to a new author!


	3. Rescue

I changed the summary, has anyone noticed? Oh well... anyway... let's start with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda...

Chapter 3: Rescue

Staring out at the seemingly endless plain of grass that was Hyrule Field, the girl sighed and pulled herself closer to the tree trunk, just as another violent vibration threatened to knock her off her perch. The Stalchildren, their newfound thinking ability only used on the process of chasing and nothing else, were much less of a threat than she had originally thought.

_I'm so happy that they're not Stalfos... But if no one comes to help me soon..._

At that thought, she shuddered and blinked away a tear. Not wanting to think further about what would happen if that scenario were to take place, the girl glanced out at the field again, and was just about to turn around and examine the tree's "fascinating" bark for the 100th time before two rapidly approaching dots caught her attention. The first dot was Areon, identifiable by his silvery gray color and wild white mane. But the second dot... The girl could barely make out an unfamiliar horse, with a rusty red coat and also a white mane, and its rider, a blond boy wearing a green tunic and a floppy green hat to match. She grabbed the bark again to counter another vibration, and turned back to study her soon-would-be rescuer.

_Is he... really coming to save me?_

The boy apparently was stringing an arrow to his bow. Excited by that, the girl let go of the tree for a second to wave. A particularly violent vibration made her lose her balance, and she fell off, into the awaiting arms of the Stalchildren.

Link cursed under his breath. His supposedly foolproof plan had just been ruined. Escape was still possible, but since when has the Hero of Time run from his duty? He had no choice now but to follow the example set by the gray horse, and charge into the fray with sword and shield flashing under the sun.

Stalchildren flew left and right, each disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Link plunged his sword into the rib cage of one of the skeletons that Epona had missed, and, with practiced timing, blocked the attack of another. Using his shield, he smashed his assailant in the head and then finished it off with a sword slash.

Without any more Stalchildren springing from the ground, a detail that went unnoticed by Link, the numbers of the previously large squadron decreased dramatically. A few more minutes of warfare drained the total number of Stalchildren to one, a piteous looking skeleton that was whimpering at Link's feet. "Please no hurt me! Please no hurt me! She evil! Evil! She took something from us and we wanted it back!"

Link arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "Are you sure you didn't steal it from her first?"

The Stalchild hissed. "No no. We no steal! Boss said 'Go get shiny treasure!' so we did! We not bad! We do what Boss said!"

"Oh. And who might your boss be?" Link asked, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice.

"No tell. No tell. Boss will kill!" The skeleton cackled obnoxiously.

"I'll let you go if you tell me, and I'll make sure that your boss doesn't kill you. Now will you talk?"

Shaking its head vigorously, the Stalchild growled, "No no. Boss too powerful for you. Me no tell!"

Unable to get any more information out of the monster, the Hero of Time sighed, drew his blade, and freed the Stalchild from its future unavoidable misery. Sheathing the Gilded Sword, Link turned to the prone form of the girl, whose only wounds appeared to be shallow cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. He was about to walk over to her side, but a nagging feeling in the back of his mind held him back.

_Something's not right here... I know that I'm forgetting something..._

He took a wary step toward the girl and was immediately greeted by a giant Stalchild. Link shot two arrows at the monstrosity and then charged at it with sword and shield drawn, but all of his attacks simply bounced off. He dodged a wild swing from the skeleton, and dove out of the way of the next swing, a bit close to his head for comfort.

Link whistled for Epona, who ran to him obediently, taking care to dodge the stomping feet of the Stalchild. Mounting his mare, the now very annoyed hero stared at the tantrum-throwing monster, searching for a weakness.

_I wish Navi were here. Either her or the Captain's Hat. This thing wouldn't be this much of a problem if only I had one of them with me._

But no matter how much he stared, he could only see rows and rows of dirty white bones, glowing red eyes, yellow teeth, and a strange black jewel in the rib cage.

_Wait a second... that- that jewel thing must be its weakness!_

Link raised his Longshot and urged Epona a little bit closer, taking care to keep out of the line of sight of the Stalchild, which was still stomping around on the ground. From the corner of his eye, he could see the gray horse diligently tending to the fallen girl. So she was its master. Link trained his weapon on the black jewel. Just a little bit more...

"NOW!" he suddenly yelled and fired the Longshot. The Stalchild shrieked as the sharp hook struck the jewel. Link flew through the air, keeping his sword extended in front of him. The blade hit its target, shattering it into millions of pieces, each one dissolving into black smoke. The skeleton uttered a final groan, collapsing to the ground, nearly crushing Link in the process. Its body exploded into flames, leaving nothing behind.

Picking himself up carefully, Link brushed the dust and dirt off his clothes as well as he could, and checked himself for wounds. A few scratches and bruises here and there, nothing horrible. A wet nose nudged him in the cheek, and Link laughed. "I'm fine, Epona! I don't die that easily!"

He turned around to pet her, but the mare gently pushed him towards the still unconscious form of the girl. Link nodded and gently lifted the Hylian onto Epona's back, revealing two larger wounds on each of her arms. He'd have to get her to Zelda before they became infected. A small glint of light near the tree attracted his attention. It was a small pendant with a broken cord, half buried in the dirt. Link stashed it in his pouch, mounted up behind the girl, and rode toward Hyrule Castle, closely followed by the gray horse.

Epona was moving at a good pace; they would make it at around lunch, leaving Link with more than enough time to reflect upon the day's events. He looked at his rescuee. She was so thin! No doubt a result of undernourishment. Nothing that a week of Hyrule's finest meals couldn't fix.

As the two horses galloped through the marketplace, Link could hear girls gasping around him, jealous of the newcomer who their beloved hero was so gently holding. He smiled slyly.

_This'll keep their minds off me for a couple of months._

The castle guard opened the gates for Link as he came barreling through. "Back so soon?" he shouted.

"It's an emergency!" Link yelled back. He left Epona and the gray horse at the stable entrance. The stablehand would have to find an empty stall for the new resident. At least the horse was cooperative. Link lifted the girl onto his back and ran towards the castle to look for Zelda.

_I go out for Guay hunting, and instead I rescue a girl from a bunch of Stalchildren. Well, I got my excitement, but I guess it's back to the boring old peaceful life. If only I could go on another adventure..._

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit hall, a figure laughed manically. "So, the girl has been saved by a blond-haired brat. And the treasure with her. Go my Stalfos! Go my Poe! Take back what rightfully belongs to me!"

"Don't you mean, 'us'?" another figure purred.

Be careful what you wish for, Link, because it might just come true.

A/N: How was it? PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. Meeting a New Friend

Oooooooo... People reviewed! I feel so special... A big thanks to the kind reviewers! I hope all of the terms I used for the weapons are right. Don't get mad if they're wrong!

Disclaimer: I own Zelda... in my dreams...

Chapter 4: Meeting a New Friend

"Zelda, are you absolutely sure about this?"

"You don't believe me?"

The two had been walking rather aimlessly through the many hallways of Hyrule Castle when Link suddenly paused, asking that question as he did so. "No, no! Of course I believe you, Zelda," he answered hastily. "It's just that things have been peaceful for so long; and now..."

"Conflict is not yet certain; I've merely felt some signs of resentment rising, that's all. It's nothing to be worried about," Zelda finished, continuing with her stroll through the castle.

Link sighed, taking a few larger steps to catch up with the princess. "Let's hope it stays that way; I'd rather not have to go through _that_ again."

Zelda merely nodded, not wanting to think of the consequences if the little bit of "resentment" she felt turned out to be the devious plots of yet another madman... like Ganondorf.

"What about the girl?" the Hero of Time asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Will she be a part of this... this whole resentment business?"

This time, it was Zelda who stopped. "Yes," she finally answered, after a moment of stillness. "I'm not quite sure what role she'll play though. Most likely simply an innocent who'll be swept up in the fight. She doesn't seem like much of a fighter."

"Yeah," Link agreed. "The blade of her sword doesn't seem to have a lot of nicks and scratches on it, even though the hilt seems well worn. I can't judge the staff - never used one." He looked at the ceiling thoughtfully before continuing. "There's something strange about the fix she was in though. Stalchildren NEVER attack in the day, and NEVER in such huge numbers. In all my rounds around the field, I've never seen or heard of it happening before. Unless she's just plain unlucky, the only other explanation would be that someone with a good amount of magic ability and knowledge actually ordered them to attack..."

The Princess of Hyrule shrugged. "Appearances aren't everything, but I still don't think she's the type who would order an attack on herself. Plus, she'd have to be quite the magic user..." Zelda paused for a moment, thinking over what she had just said. "Well... we'll just have to find out ourselves, won't we? I'm pretty sure that she can be trusted though, seeing that, if we were to have any problems, she would be on our side."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that. Wouldn't hurt to be careful though, would it?" Link grinned.

"No, it wouldn't. But it'd probably be better for us to gain _her_ trust too; that way we can find out a bit more about her," Zelda retorted, smiling.

"How come you're always right and I'm always just a bit off?"

"Define 'a bit', Link."

Meanwhile, in a dark room, the girl slowly opened her eyes. She gradually propped herself up, aware of the burning pain in her arms. She couldn't understand why for the love of Nayru she was in a large canopy bed with velvet blankets. And why she was in a spacious, elegant room and not in a prison cell with straw in her hair and all of her belongings gone. She glanced around the chamber. The sun's last rays, seeping through a window, provided barely enough light for her to see that her sword and staff were still on her shoulder belt, lying on a shelf. She jumped out of bed, and was just about to grab her weapons when the door opened.

"You're finally awake! But you shouldn't be wandering around! Your wounds aren't healed yet!" A figure walked in, holding a lit lantern. She swung her arm in front of her once, and immediately, all of the conveniently hanging lamps on the walls lit up by themselves.

Gasping, the girl asked, "How did you do that?"

"Magic," answered the figure, a bit too mysteriously for the girl's comfort.

Hurried footsteps accompanied a second, deeper voice. "Zelda! Where are you going with that lamp! She's not- oh."

The new figure, who the girl recognized as her rescuer, stopped at the door, a little surprised, but he quickly overcame it and walked in with a grin on his face and in his bright blue eyes. "Hi! Glad to see you're awake! My name's Link! And this is Zelda," he gestured to the first figure, who smiled cheerfully. "What's your name?"

The girl stammered a bit, "M- my name's Kira. Um... are you by any chance the Princess of Hyrule?"

"Yes, but you really don't have to treat me any differently than you would treat others. I hate it when people do that," Zelda replied, still smiling.

Kira sighed wih relief, "Wow... I guess that's good news for me... I... don't really know what I would say to a princess."

"Well... You have to say 'yes your Majesty this' and 'yes your Highness that' and you have to bow and you have to- OW! Hey! What was that for?" Link complained, gingerly clasping his throbbing ear.

"I needed to shut you up," Zelda answered curtly.

Kira could only stare at the strange display of complete disrespect for a princess and complete lack of manners on the princess' part.

Link was the first to break the awkward silence. "Um... Kira... Why were you in that tree? And was there anyone else with you?"

"No. Just me and Areon. We're travelers." Seeing her audience's confused looks, she quickly added, "Areon's my stallion. We were just... um... returning from a far away country... uhh... after a couple of years of training there... and... and... we got lost while trying... to find some relatives of mine so I... climbed in the tree to... get a better view and then the Stalchildren attacked... and that's how I got stuck in the tree." She beamed innocently at them.

Link was very confused now. The more he listened to Kira's story, the more he was convinced that she was lying, despite what Zelda had said.

_She's keeping something from us; I just know it._

He pretended to fix his hat, while glancing at Zelda to see what she felt. She blinked at him and said to Kira, "I know you're probably in a hurry to get home, but please stay here until your wounds heal."

Kira accepted the offer graciously. Link understood what Zelda was trying to do. They would just have to play along with Kira's story. He fished around in his pouch, mentioning, "I found this on the ground near the tree. I think it's yours..." He held out a Triforce-shaped pendant.

Kira eagerly snatched it out of his hand. "Oh! My pendant! It must have dropped out of my sword sheath when I drew my sword! Thank you for finding it!"

She checked the delicate pendant to make sure that the three golden triangles were still firmly welded together. Satisfied that they weren't about to fall apart, she looked up with a confused expression and asked, "Did you put this black string on it?"

"I did. I figured that it would be harder to lose it if you had it around your neck all the time. And the string's been magically enhanced - it won't break," answered Zelda. "Do you like it?"

"I really do! Ahhh! Thank you so much! The old cord I used to have snapped, so I just kept the pendant in my sheath all the time." Kira slipped the string on. It was a perfect fit.

"Oh, by the way, Kira, I polished your weapons. I was a little bored... Hope you don't mind." Link added.

"I don't mind at all! In fact, I've been meaning to do that for a while now... Th- Thank you!" Kira retrieved her weapons from the shelf. Her short sword's blade glowed in the light, and the silver Hylian emblem (A/N: the phoenix symbol) engraved on the black hilt sparkled brightly. "Ahhh... I- I... You're all too kind..."

Noticing that the girl's eyes were starting to brim with tears, Zelda decided to change the topic and asked, "Isn't that the emblem of the Royal Family? Where did you get that sword?"

Kira paled a bit at that. "Um... my father gave it to me. He was... he was... a Hylian knight."

"Was? What happened to him? Was he killed in the line of duty? I'm sure Father can arrange a memorial for him if you want... He must have been a very distinguished officer to have a silver emblem. Normally only the high ranking officials get silver ones; knights typically get bronze."

"Oh no, he's not dead. He's just... uh... retired. And he accomplished... many great feats during the war so the King rewarded him," Kira returned hurriedly.

"That's good to know. What about your staff? Did he give that to you too?" questioned Zelda.

"He didn't. Someone else gave it to me as a gift," answered Kira. "Um... Would you like to hold it?"

Zelda nodded. "May I?"

The staff's polished hardwood handle gleamed in the lantern's light. The Princess of Hyrule held it up admiringly, her delicate fingers curving around the strips of worn cloth wound on the rod to give it a better grip. A large and flawless pearl, clutched by an angular golden talon, shaped roughly like that of an eagle, adorned the top. A golden knob embellished the bottom.

"It's such a lovely staff," Zelda exclaimed, handing the weapon back to Kira.

Link agreed, "Yep. I've yet to see one that looks better. Do you know any spells?"

Kira blushed. "Just a few. I'm not that great..."

"Princess! It's time for dinner!" Impa's voice sounded from the open doorway.

"Yeah! Finally! I'm starving! What's for dinner?" Link exclaimed.

"Hmph. You're always hungry, Link. It doesn't matter what we're going to eat because you're going to eat it all anyways!"

"So?"

"So you're just an useless pig we should throw into the streets!"

"Hey! What happened to the kind princess I used to know?"

"What happened to the quiet boy I used to know?"

"Well... EXCUUUUSE ME!" (A/N: I had to add that)

"For what? For being the most annoying person in Hyrule?"

Again, Kira could only stare and sigh as she followed the two mock debaters down the stairs toward the dining room.

A/N: Didja like it? Starting with this chappie, (and ending with the 6th) bits of Kira's history will be hinted at and anyone who can guess part of it in their reviews will get... um... an imaginary thingymajiggy! Hehe. Anyway... Please review!


	5. Dining With Royalty

Ooooo... a longer chapter... No one gets the imaginary thingymajiggy this time. Nice try InuYasha fan3; I guess there are lots of fics with Ganondorf's daughter meeting Link and Zelda but this one's different! Heehee. C'mon! The offer's still good and this chappie has quite a few hints! Review and try to guess part of Kira's history! The more you review the more chances you'll get!

Disclaimer: Well... it's kinda painfully obvious that I don't own Zelda...

Chapter 5: Dining With Royalty

Impa met the three Hylians at the bottom of the stairs. "Princess! You know that we have some special guests today! The King and Prince of Calatia shouldn't see the Princess of Hyrule in a simple shirt and skirt! As for you two, well... just get yourself cleaned up a bit. We all have to make a good impression."

The three sighed and traipsed back to their respective rooms. Impa smiled and took up a position against the wall, waiting to escort the princess and her guests to dinner.

_That girl... that girl Link rescued. I wonder..._

Kira flopped down on a plush chair. She didn't have any other clothes; her tunic was dirty, and she couldn't just wear her shirt and shorts to a royal dinner. She stared at the high ceiling, reflecting upon her current situation.

_People here are so nice! It's too bad I have to leave as soon as my wounds are healed... but... if I told them the truth... then they'd probably think I'm crazy and then they won't want me anymore. I might as well try my hardest to seem like a mannerly young lady while I'm here._

Quietly walking across the hallway to the room she had seen Zelda enter, she knocked on the door, hoping the princess would be able to help. A very flustered Zelda answered. "I told you I don't need your help! Leave- oh sorry Kira. I thought you were one of those pesky maids who are supposed to help me dress. Hmph. I'm fourteen already, old enough to do that myself!" Zelda straightened out her circlet and added, "Did you need something?"

Kira said hesitatingly, "Um... I was wondering if you would have something I could wear to dinner. Anything one hundredths as pretty as yours would be nice."

Zelda laughed. "This? Pretty? This is just my normal ceremonial dress. Well come on in. I don't set traps in my room so don't worry!"

She fumbled around in her closet as Kira glanced around the room, amazed at all of the books and rich trappings that decorated it. "I never imagined that I would be staying right across a hallway from the Princess of Hyrule."

Zelda continued searching. "That's pretty much what Link said when he came to live here. Ah, here's a nice one." She held up a sleeveless lavender dress. It was simple yet elegant, and Kira's eyes sparkled when she saw it.

"Wow! It's so beautiful! Thank you so much, Princess Zelda!"

"Please, just Zelda. I'm glad you like it. I think that it would look nice if you just wore it over your shirt."

Kira exchanged her tunic for the dress. She twirled around in front of a large mirror, a huge smile plastered on her face. Then, unexpectedly, the dress caught on the edge of Zelda's reading desk and ripped apart in the side. Kira clasped her hands to her mouth while the princess sighed. "Stupid desk. Always does that. Don't worry about the dress, we can go and get that fixed up."

Before Kira could state anything, a sound of splashing water issued from the far wall, followed by "Din's Fire!" and a yelp. Zelda sighed again and gestured to the wall. "Looks like our dear Sir Link has come up with a new way of washing and drying clothes in his room."

"SIR Link? Ahh! I- I haven't been treating him with proper respect!"

"Don't call him that; he hates it. I just do that to make fun of him," explained Zelda as the two girls rushed to Link's room, Kira doing her best to hold the dress together and fold her tunic at the same time.

Link emerged, his clothes, minus the hat, steaming and a sheepish grin on his face. Seeing Kira's tunic, he exclaimed, "I'll wash that for you!" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed it and ran into his room, locking the door.

"No! Link! Wait! St-"

"Din's Fire!" echoed from the room, and Link reappeared a second later with Kira's tunic, also steaming like his, and handed it back to her. "You can wear this instead of the dress. The King's not gonna approve of his daughter's guest wearing something with such a wide slit."

Kira blushed and headed back to Zelda's room to change. The princess peeked into Link's room, only to see a large water bucket, almost empty, and a red hot metal rack standing in the middle of the room. Link noticed her observations. "Like it? My own invention. Makes washing and drying much faster."

Zelda sighed again, the third time in fifteen minutes.

_Note to self: Make Link get a new hobby._

Kira reemerged in the hallway, dressed in her tunic, now clean. "I left the dress on your bed. I'm really sorry for ripping it."

"Don't be," said Zelda.

"Ahh... And I'm really sorry for not mentioning this earlier, but... um... I wanted to thank both of you for saving me and treating my wounds."

Link grinned. "No problem. Now can we finally go to dinner? I'm starving!"

The three met Impa again at the same spot. She beamed at them. "That's MUCH better, Princess. You'll give a fine impression, indeed. Link, it's too bad that our guests are both males. They wouldn't appreciate how much better you look with your face and clothes clean. And..."

"Kira. Her name's Kira," Zelda chipped in.

"It's nice to meet you, Kira. I'm sure our guests would love to meet such a lovely young lady."

"Thank you."

"Now hurry along to dinner. The King is waiting," Impa finished as she directed the young Hylians toward the dinner hall.

_Kira... Hmm... Could she be the one? I'll have to uncover her past. If it matches up with the one we made... Then I'll know it's her. As for what route we'll need to take..._

She saved the thought for future consideration and headed toward the dinner hall herself.

A gaudily dressed herald welcomed the late arrivers at the door. "Greetings, your Majesty. The King is waiting for you."

"Have the guests arrived yet?" Zelda asked.

"No, your Majesty. But they are expected to arrive any moment now."

Zelda nodded and entered, followed by Link and Kira. Impa stationed herself by the door, in case of intruders. Seeing his daughter, King Harkinian III (A/N: random number) rose from his seat. "My dear princess, how are you tonight?"

"I'm fine Father, but will you not also offer greetings to Link and Kira?"

"Ah yes, of course, how rude of me. Welcome Sir Link and Lady Kira. Please take a seat."

"Yes, please do," Zelda added.

Everyone at the table sat down obediently. Almost immediately, the heralds announced the arrival of "King Cirlatan of Calatia and the Prince Lyson". The doors opened and two richly clothed people sauntered in. King Harkinian rose from his seat again. "Welcome to Hyrule Castle. Dinner will be served momentarily. I hope your trip has been pleasant."

King Cirlatan smiled agreeably and began a conversation with the King of Hyrule, now seated, but the Prince sniffled. "It was horrible! We had to pass through this stifling forest, and all these midgets stared at us! A little green-haired shrimp gave us a useless branch and said it was as a blessing! Imagine that!"

Link clenched his fists under the table and was about to say something nasty, but Zelda silenced him with a look. "Prince Lyson, the Great Deku Tree, although still small, is the sacred guardian of the Kokiri Forest, a place which many wish to see. It is a great honor to receive one of its branches! You should be grateful for it!" She eyed the prince coldly, but he didn't understand the message.

"Why would that be an honor? Personally, I feel that the only honor I wish for is to be able to dance with you, my sweet princess, with your radiant blue eyes, and locks of golden hair..."

Zelda looked completely disgusted, and Link gagged.

_What a pathetic idiot!_

The prince turned his beady black eyes on Link, who stared back with clear blue ones. Lyson ran a grubby hand through his oily brown hair. "Hmph. Commoners shouldn't be allowed to dine with royalty. Especially those with such horrible manners."

Zelda answered him angrily, "Link is a fine warrior and a good friend of mine. And he also partly serves as the ambassador of the Kokiri Forest."

Kira's eyes began to tear. Link noticed and quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing. Just some dust in my eye, that's all." She smiled cheerfully at him.

Prince Lyson observed the entire exchange and rudely commented, "Now look here Father. These peasants are disregarding our great presence here and flirting in front of our very eyes! What do you have to say to that?"

The King of Calatia only nodded, continuing his conversation on taxes and foreign policies. Both Link and Kira glared at Lyson, who stared back haughtily and continued, "I do say, Princess Zelda, that you haven't done a good job teaching these commoners court manners, have you?"

It was Zelda's turn to glare, and she was about to launch into one of her royal tirades, but King Harkinian interrupted just in time. "Zelda dear, King Cirlatan informs me of the Prince's desire to remain in Hyrule for a few months. I say that we grant him his wish and let him be the guest-of-honor at our ball. The King tells me that Prince Lyson is a wonderful dancer. He would be the perfect partner for you!"

Zelda looked as if she were about to faint; Link was staring icily at Lyson, who was smirking, and Kira seemed utterly sick. King Cirlatan smiled. "Then it is settled. I shall be returning to Calatia tomorrow. Promise me that you will be a perfect gentleman."

Prince Lyson drawled, his voice full of mock sweetness, "Don't worry dear Father. I'll set an absolutely wonderful example for the Hylians, and I'll be sure to show this Link fellow what a "fine warrior" should really be."

"Do not worry about him. I shall make sure that he receives the best treatment that Hyrule has to offer. Let us start dinner, shall we?" exclaimed King Harkinian.

A/N: Lyson may seem like your average snotty prince, but I'm planning something for him. You'll have to keep reading and reviewing to find out! Anyway... did you catch the hints? There's still time! Don't forget that you might win an imaginary thingymajiggy! And if that doesn't convince you to review then please do it to let a new authoress know how her writing is! PRETTY PLEASE!


	6. Close Encounter

Okies... I think this is my longest chapter so far... and it's also the last chappie for the um... offer. I would really appreciate some more reviews though... I'm planning on making this fic a pretty long one, and it would be nice if people could tell me how they feel about it.

Also continued in making Kira more nervous, and easily frightened. In short, a crybaby. Hope I succeeded somewhat!

Chapter 6: Close Encounter

The Poe and the two Stalfos crept through the empty courtyards of the castle. The Poe had done a good job. All of the guards were tied up and quietly sleeping. No need for violence - they would surely be overwhelmed, caught, and killed. They only had to get a pendant back from the blond boy who had picked it up in the morning. How hard could it be?

The Poe floated through a wall and opened a window to let the Stalfos in. The trio wandered around the empty halls. Everyone was fast asleep. But... the castle was huge! They would have to search all of the rooms. At least they knew what kind of person they were looking for...

Kira tossed to and fro in her bed. There it was again! That slamming sound! Someone had to be in the castle! She silently slipped out of bed, happy that the night was warm. She wouldn't have to wear anything over her shirt and shorts. The ground was warm too - that was good - going barefoot would make for better stealth. She furtively stepped out of the doorway and sneaked to Zelda's room. Silently hoping that its occupant was awake, she lightly knocked on the door. Almost immediately, it was answered by the princess, dressed in a pale yellow nightgown, holding a lamp in her hand, and wearing a worried expression on her face.

"D- Did you hear the slamming noise?" Kira whispered, shivering. The thought of monsters attacking her in her sleep was not very calming.

"Yes, but there are guards everywhere on the grounds... Should we go look?" answered Zelda, also whispering.

"Um... Hold on. Let me get my staff, just in case." Kira crept back to her room, grabbed the item, and then tiptoed back to where Zelda was standing.

The two quietly sneaked down the hall, down the stairs, past the King's and Lyson's chambers, to the source of the noise, which happened to be the royal kitchen. Someone was apparently looking for something, opening and closing cupboards and pantry doors to find it.

"Let's wait at the door and when the person comes out, you can hit him with your staff and I'll stun him with my magic," Zelda suggested.

Kira nodded in reply. They took up their positions, one on each side of the door, which opened soon after. "Now!" shouted Zelda.

"OW! HEY! What's the big idea!" the figure cried when the staff and spell hit their mark.

Link clutched his head in pain, his sandwich and glass of water spilled on the ground and on his shirt. "Owww... that hurt... why'd you hit me? I was just getting a snack..." He tried to look as if he were in intense pain, but when he didn't receive a response, he sneaked a glance at his inattentive audience. Zelda was trying to stop from exploding into a fit of giggles, and Kira was beet red from holding her laughter.

"Hello! Someone tell me what's wrong!" Link was getting more than a little exasperated at the current situation. At that comment, the two girls burst into laughter. Link, more annoyed than ever, suddenly realized the reason for the laughing fit when he ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. A slice of wet tomato fell on his face, eliciting more laughter from Zelda and Kira.

Link sighed, removed the tomato, checked his clothes for any other offending articles, tried his best to wring out his wet shirt, and waited for the laughter to die out, which it eventually did.

"Don't come crying to me when you two get stomach cramps tomorrow... and with your wounds no even fully healed yet, Kira," Link said in a mock tone of disgust.

"Well... it WAS your fault, technically, and besides... my wounds are almost healed, thanks to Zelda and her skill with medicines," Kira returned jokingly.

"It's also your fault that I dropped the lamp and it rolled over there. Just be glad that the carpet didn't catch on fire else it would REALLY be your fault," teased Zelda as she went to pick up the lantern.

Link heaved a long sigh. "Whatever you say... YOUR MAJESTY. Might as well pick up my lost sandwich. Not my fault they served "delicacies" for dinner... Cucco brains? There's absolutely no way I'll ever eat those! Could you help Kira?"

"Sure. Be h-"

But before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Zelda's scream. Kira whirled around as Link jumped to his feet. A Stalfos was holding Zelda's hands behind her back while a Poe was busy tying her up. Another Stalfos stepped in front of them and brandished a twisted spear.

"Alright you," it hissed, pointing to Link with the spear. "Hand over the pendant!"

"What pendant?"

"Don't act stupid. The Triforce pendant you picked up today!"

The Hero of Time stared at the Stalfos, amazed at its ability to speak yet confused as to its strange order.

_The pendant I picked up today? Kira's pendant!_

"Well?" the Stalfos sneered. "Do you have it?"

"And what if I don't?" returned Link defiantly.

"Then we kill this girl since you're obviously lying. The Boss said that a blond haired blue eyed boy took the pendant and headed back to the castle. And yer the only one who fits the description!" the Poe cackled.

Link was shocked. This was the second time in a day that a monster had mentioned a "Boss".

"Um... A- And how would you know that? And wh- what if the boy lived in the town, a- and not the castle?" Kira questioned, hoping to find a weakness in the Poe's statements, though her voice quavered from nervousness.

"Easy. T'answer yer first question, we've checked all the rooms in the castle already 'cept for the King's. It goes by much quicker when ya got a Poe on yer side. We found three empty rooms, heard a noise, came t'investigate, and now we've got our missing person. As for yer second question, the Boss has Guay spies. And they said that the boy headed fer the castle and never came out!" growled the other Stalfos, who had just finished with dumping a dazed Zelda next to a wall.

Link grinned. "Too bad all your hard work will be for nothing. I'm sure that there are guards rushing here right now after hearing the Princess' scream."

The first Stalfos returned Link's grin with a wicked one of its own. "That ain't gonna be a problem t'night. Sleeping gas. Knocks'em out pretty fast. 'Though there was this one lady, a Sheikah I do believe. Put up a good fight she did. 'Most took off our heads 'fore the gas kicked in. Now since I'm pretty sure ya don't want yer future ruler t'die, hand over the pendant so we kin all go our own merry ways."

"For a Stalfos, you're pretty good with words, but that's not gonna help tonight. I know better than to trust monsters like you, especially those who want other people's things to get rich, even if you're just following orders!" Link yelled.

"Tut tut. No need t'shout. Besides, ya shouldn't judge a monster by the way it looks. And I'm pretty sure our Boss won't be selling that little trinket of yers. We gotta follow orders, so just hand the pendant over and we'll let ya off the hook easy this time," the Stalfos scolded, a sarcastic sneer on its bony face.

"Theives!" Zelda's scream took both sides by surprise, but she wasn't finished yet. "Cowards! Tell your dirty boss that the pendant will never belong t-"

She slumped on the ground, unconscious from being whacked on the head by the Poe's lantern, whose owner cackled. "She was getting annoying."

Link stared coldly at the ghost. He held out his hand, and conjured up a crystal with a core of dancing flames. It shattered into a stream of red light and flowed into Link's extended palm. "Din's F-"

But before he could finish the spell, a gust of wind slammed the Poe into the castle wall. The tattered ghost howled in pain and disappeared into black smoke, which slowly died away, leaving nothing behind; no lantern, no grimly smiling spirit. Link and the two Stalfos turned from the spot the newly deceased Poe had occupied to face Kira, only to see her staring at the last wisps of smoke, clutching her staff tightly. The pearl was glowing brightly, but its light quickly dimmed soon after.

The Stalfos uttered a wild scream of rage as their sullen eyes glowed a dark red, a red the color of blood. Both raised their twisted spears at the same time, and charged. Link grabbed Kira's arm and ran down the hall, closely tailed by a pair of bloodthirsty skeletons.

"But... but Link! What about Zelda? We- We can't just leave her there!" Kira managed to shout during the pause between the Stalfos' screams and Link's curses.

"Don't worry 'bout her. She'll be fine. It's not like they're after her."

A suit of armor stood in one or the hallways, and Link borrowed its spear as he passed it with Kira still in tow. They were nearing the top floor of the castle and it was a looooong way down. The stairways were getting narrower, not a problem for the smaller Hylians, but a growing concern for the wider-boned Stalfos, who had to squeeze through single file. But still, they growled and fought their way upwards.

Link was getting worried. The stairs ended in an open, circular balcony, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Their only option would be to fight. At least he had a spear and Kira her staff. But despite his experience with the monsters, he still felt uneasy.

_These Stalfos seem... different. They're smarter... and faster... and to make things worse... I've never used a spear before..._

The door to the balcony loomed ahead. Link shoved it open and then barred it behind him, hoping to buy a little more preparation time. "We're gonna have to fight, so get used to the arena."

Kira gasped. The balcony was very very high up. It was definitely a great place to suicide. She turned back toward the doorway and followed Link's example, clutching her staff as tightly as she could manage, sweat running down her face.

_I- I've never fought Stalfos before... Everything I've faced... What if? N- No! I- I don't want to die! I- I don't want other people to die! N- Not because of me! Not because of me!_

Almost immediately, two spearheads burst through the wooden door. Splinters flew as the Stalfos repeatedly rammed against their obstacle. Link inched closer, preparing himself for a charge.

_This is it..._

The door burst apart, and the eerily grinning face of a Stalfos peeked through the wide hole. Link charged at the visage with spear outstretched. The point lodged in the Stalfos' skull and then... snapped, leaving the hero with only the bottom half of the spear.

"Uh-oh..."

The skeleton grinned evilly, and then swung its weapon at Link, who rolled out of the way just in time.

"L- Link! See that white orb in its chest? You have to shatter it with magic! Then the Stalfos will die!" shouted Kira.

Link nodded, not bothering to wonder how Kira came about with the information. He conjured the flaming crystal again and shouted, "Din's Fire!" The expanding walls of flame were joined by beams of ice from Kira's staff, which formed an ice crystal around the two Stalfos, trapping them in a prison of fire and ice. Kira raised her staff again, and immediately, a bolt of lightning struck the crystal, causing a massive explosion. A wretched scream issued from the smoke, causing Link to shudder involuntarily. The crisp night breeze soon cleared the balcony of the haze, revealing a single scorched spearhead where the Stalfos had once stood.

Link let out a low whistle. "Wow Kira. You're really good at magic aren't you?"

"N- No... not really. It's your spell that did most of the work. See? The spearhead is scorched black, not frozen or fried. Besides... Without my staff..."

"Stop being so modest! You deserve praise and that's what I'll give you! If you ask me, I think that- Kira! Watch out behind you!"

Kira spun around, just as a spearhead grazed her cheek, a thin stream of blood spilling from the cut. "B- But it should be dead by now! Unless..." The Stalfos sneered and raised its spear for another swing. Link pulled Kira out of the way and blocked the next stab with his stick.

"Ahh! Link! This one has a black orb! You have to use a weapon! Its spear's not gonna break until you kill it!"

"Thanks for the info but I don't HAVE a weapon right now! Can't you hit it with your staff?" the Hero of Time shouted back, quite a bit irked at the Stalfos' sudden appearance and his inability to do anything about it.

Kira circled the monster, taking care to avoid any more slashes. "I- I'm sorry! B- But my staff's not a great weapon for breaking orbs. You'll need something sharp to pierce the rib cage!"

Link glanced at his splintered stick, then at the scorched spearhead still lying on the ground, then back at his stick again. He gained eye contact with Kira, pointed to himself, motioned to the spearhead, nodded at her, and gestured to the Stalfos. Kira shook her head in agreement, and then busied herself in keeping the skeleton's attention on her. Link ran to the spearhead. It was still keen, despite having been trapped in fire, ice, and lightning. He immediately started using it to sharpen his stick into a makeshift spear, well aware that he had not much time to spare.

A scream disrupted his work. Link looked up to see Kira cornered against the railing, staff held tightly in front. The stick wasn't quite that sharp yet, but it would have to do. He yelled to distract the Stalfos' attention and dashed at it, planting his stake into the orb. But the jewel simply cracked, not shattered. The skeleton writhed in agony, and rammed its heavy body into its closest target.

"Kira!" Link stumbled to the railing, which was still miraculously standing, although nearly in ruins. He looked over the handrail to see Kira hanging precariously onto the edge of the balcony. She was too far for him to reach, and the stick was currently wedged in an orb in a Stalfos, which was dancing around in pain. A growl made him re-evaluate the condition of the monster. It wasn't dancing around in pain anymore; now it was advancing with a very murderous desire.

"W- Wait! Don't attack it! It won't do any good!" Kira yelled at Link, holding up her staff at the same time. She whispered something to the breeze, and the white pearl began to glow. Both the Stalfos and Link stopped in their tracks, staring at the sight. A ring of light shone around the spot the monster was standing on, and immediately, the enclosed area began shaking. The Stalfos dropped to the ground in surprise, and held its skull between its arms, apparently afraid of the "earthquake".

Link used the skeleton's fears to his advantage, reaching over the railing to grab Kira's staff, which she had held out for him. Unfortunately, the handrail chose to break at that inopportune time, leaving Link hanging onto the edge with only one hand, supporting Kira's weight with the other. And on top of that, the Stalfos decided to overcome its fear of miniature earthquakes, approaching the vulnerable Hylians with a smirk on its face. Link hung down his head and cursed himself silently.

_Great. Just great. I knew I shoulda been more prepared. I think I'm losing my edge with all these years of peace. Nothing I can do about it now. Bye Zelda, bye Saria, bye Epona, bye-_

Kira's voice jolted him out of his thoughts, as she shut her eyes and murmured a few words. Two large, feathery wings sprung from her back, (A/N: Think Song of Soaring) and she lifted a very surprised Link past an equally shocked Stalfos. Kira fell to the ground, panting from exhaustion, her wings disappearing into thin air.

The skeleton recovered from the surprise first, and knowing that its quarry had no hope left, advanced slowly, its grin growing wider and wider with every step. Link clenched his fists and tensed himself for battle, stepping in front of Kira.

"Link! Kira!" A cry came from the fractured door. Zelda appeared, dragging the Gilded Sword with much difficulty. "Here! Catch!" She swung it at Link, who caught it expertly.

"Take this!" he shouted, driving the blade into the black orb before the Stalfos could respond to the new threat. The jewel shattered into smoke, and the skeleton's bones dissolved with it, its scream reverberating through the air.

Kira settled herself against a wall, trying to recover her breath. She felt her cheek, noting that the blood had already dried. Link slumped down next to her with a sigh of relief. "Thanks Zelda. But why'd you bring only the sword?"

Zelda laughed. "Don't be so picky Link! Your sword was heavy enough! Just be glad that I saved your life back there!"

"Umm... I- I want to thank the both of you for saving my life again..." Kira declared quietly before Link could start another debate with Zelda.

"No need, but we do have to get both of you cleaned up," answered the princess. "Right, Link?"

But Link was lost in thought, reminiscing about the events that had led to the struggle. First, there were the Stalchildren. Then Kira's questionable story. Then the dinner. Then the Stalfos and the Poe. Well... maybe the dinner wasn't really that important.

_But still, a "Boss" who wants a treasure, which is supposedly Kira's pendant? I'm pretty sure of it now. I know that she's hiding something from us._

"Hello! Link! Are you awake?"

Zelda's voice snapped him back to reality. "Er... right. And Kira, I think you have some explaining to do. Why did those monsters want your pendant? You're keeping something from us, aren't you?" Link questioned, but the only reply he got out of the girl was a shocked expression, full of despair and worry. She murmured to herself so quietly that Link could barely make out the words. "Don't- Don't leave me? Is that what you're saying?" he asked.

Kiraonly continued repeating the phrase, as if unaware of the world around her.

Link sighed. He was getting impatient. Normally, he would have waited for her to stop mumbling, but he wanted to find out why the monsters had wanted that pendant, to find out if there was a new threat to Hyrule. "Kira! Snap out of it! I-"

"Link! Stop it! You're scaring her! Let me handle this!" Zelda pushed the indignant hero away, who sulkily took up a post leaning against the wall. Then, she began to comfort the still mumbling Kira. "Don't worry. Calm down. No one's going to leave you. Just tell us what's wrong."

Her subject stopped and gazed at Zelda with a pair of questioning eyes. "Really? You- You promise you won't just leave me alone here to die?" she ventured.

"Promise. Isn't that right Link?"

Link nodded eagerly. They were finally getting somewhere. Maybe Kira could tell them more about the premonitions Zelda had been having.

Kira glanced at the hero and the princess uncertainly. "And... you promise you'll believe me? Everything I say?"

"Of course."

"Ahh... You- You've both been so nice to me so then... I guess I should start by telling you about myself, right?"

"Yes, please do," Zelda said.

Link added mischievously, "It IS the truth this time, am I right?"

His comment elicited a smile from Kira, the first in a while. "Um... Yeah... It is."

* * *

A/N: Oooo... you get to wait for next time to find out Kira's story! Remember, this is the last chappie for the offer, so get your ideas in fast! 


	7. Kira's Story

I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Silverbreeze, Ria, Armageddon1, and PichuStar. I hope this fic can continue to deserve your nice, kind, wonderful etc etc etc reviews! Oh yeah and... PichuStar gets the imaginary thingymajiggy for guessing stuff right! And just what is the imaginary thingymajiggy? It's whatever you want! Alrighty... just like the chapter's name says, almost the entire chappie is Kira's story so just remember that it's one really long quote. There's gonna be only one more like it, I think. Anyway, just remember to review, and enjoy!

**All right. This is one of the two chapters I'm warning you of! Major angsty past here, but just remember, it's all done for a reason! Maybe you can see hints as to WHAT that reason is. Haha. And to think, when I started out, I thought I was making Kira less of a Mary Sue just by making her a Hylian and giving her normal hair colors. Ahh... yes. The joys of being an amateur. XD**

Disclaimer: Eek! I forgot it last time! Oh well... you can go and look at the first five chapters for the nice disclaimer(s).

Chapter 7: Kira's Story

Kira took a deep breath. "Alright then. Here goes. I am a wanderer, but I'm not lost, and I... I... don't have a family anymore. I'm fourteen years old, born in Kakariko a few months before the Great War. My mother named me Kira, using only four of the five letters in the name 'Kakariko' because she didn't like the sound of names like Kario or Kairo.

My father was the Hylian ambassador to the Sheikah people. He was sent on a confidential mission to convince them to open Kakariko Village to the rest of Hyrule. Although, as you probably know, it was customary for rich Hylian families to have at least one Sheikah domestic, thus learning about many of their traditions, few had ever entered their village, let alone live there. It was, at first, a rather intimidating idea for my mother, a true noblewoman, for she and my father were the only Hylians living in the village, the first to do so, in fact. But she quickly overcame it, finding that the Sheikah, for the most part, were kind and welcoming. During their stay there, my mother gave birth to me, the first Hylian baby born in the village of the shadow people.

My father had almost succeeded in his task before the war took his life. When the fires of combat neared Kakariko, my father, even though he was an ambassador, a high ranking official (A/N: remember the whole emblem on the sword thing?), took up his sword and helped the Sheikah warriors defend the village from the enemy. But, they were soon outnumbered and... slaughtered.

Kakariko was overrun, forcing the remaining villagers to escape. My mother fled with me, still an innocent baby, oblivious of the world, to a manor. It belonged to one of her childhood friends, whose husband was an important figure in the Hylian army. During our short stay there, an old traveling soothsayer visited and offered to tell our fortunes. She predicted doom and death for all, but no one believed her.

It was a mistake that my mother truly regretted. For the master of the manor soon fell in battle, and his wife, my mother's friend, was trapped in her room as the mansion was ravaged by fire. Again, my mother was forced to flee with me, this time back to Kakariko.

The enemy had left the village, and the Sheikah were gradually resettling. My family had been well-loved and respected by most of the villagers, so, as a tribute for my father, the Sheikah Elder sent the Lady Impa to Hyrule Castle. She was under the orders to sign a treaty with the new King, an agreement to form an alliance with the Hylians and to open Kakariko to the rest of the world. She never returned. Lost to the dazzle and bustle of Hyrule Castle Town, my mother presumed, for Lady Impa had always been very independent, unwilling to be tied down by employee-employer relationships of any kind, not the best kind of housemaid, but the best kind of friend.

We were settling back into our old life, but my mother could never overcome my father's death, and one day, her cold body was found by his grave. She left me her diary, from which I learned everything that I've just described for you, and my father's sword, the one I have now.

The Sheikah Elder took me under his care, and I was trained in the magic arts of the shadow people. I practiced day and night, night and day, never having anyone to talk to or talk to me, other than the occasional comment from the elder. None of the children in the village would play with me, not the Sheikah children, not even the Hylian children who were increasing in number every week. I just assumed that they were jealous because I was being trained by the esteemed Sheikah Elder. How wrong I was!

The day I turned five, I woke up to find that all of the Sheikah had disappeared without a trace. The only thing I had of them was a chest with this staff and pendant. I did not understand why they were gone... did not even try to understand. All I knew was that I had just been abandoned! Abandoned to the world! And to make matters worse, no one cared! Children refused to play with me, and adults would always turn away.

I once tried to approach another girl about my age, tried to be friends. But she only screamed and ran to her mother, who chased me with a stick, yelling 'Stay away from my child you dirty rascal! Go back to wherever you came from! The Great Impa opened this village for us honest folk! Not dirty little thieves like you!'

I... I was stunned. I ran back to my flimsy little shack, sobbing. They weren't jealous; they were scared of me; they hated me! Me, the child of the great Hylian ambassador! The great Hylian ambassador who would never receive any credit for his hard work! Whose only beloved daughter was being treated as a common thief, as an unwanted nobody!

I cried and cried for hours, but it seemed like days. Even when my tears ran dry, I still continued sobbing. Eventually, a kind retired Hylian soldier invited me to his house. I told him that my father was the late ambassador who had opened Kakariko to the world, but he didn't believe me. He only smiled and said that the Great Impa had opened the village, that the ambassador had disappeared mysteriously a few years ago with his wife, but without a child. Then he told me that he understood my not wanting to go back to the asylum, and that I could stay with him if I wished. I dragged him back to my shack to show him my mother's scroll, but he only commented that I had a very active imagination.

However, when he saw my sword, he promised he would teach me how to use it. I trained with him for two years, before he passed away from this world. I had lived happily with him, but now I was alone again. The villagers still shunned me, but I did not cry anymore. The Sheikah, my parents, the war; they did not make me sad any longer. After all, what's the use of crying if being sad everyday is just going to cause more trouble?

But still... I could never completely ignore the fact, that I, unlike all of the other seven year olds in the village, had no friends, no family. To make up for it, I practiced my magic and swordsmanship everyday in the graveyard. And to think, to think that I dared to believe that my problems had finally ended, that I would just live the rest of my life as a loner, like the graveyard keeper, Dampé.

One day when I was having my daily training, I was swarmed by a group of Poes. I managed to barely escape with my life, but the villagers didn't recognize me, with my entire body covered with blood and dirt, and my hair matted all over my face. They drove me out, thinking I was some kind of revengeful spirit from the graves. They left me to die in the wilderness, left me outside the village gates with only my sword, staff, pendant, and clothes.

But I couldn't make myself hate them, I just couldn't. I had lost all hope for a happy life long ago. I was used to people shunning me; I was used to people abandoning me, but nothing could prepare me for the things I was yet to face. Everyday, I would take various odd jobs to earn some money, barely enough to buy food, but every night I was attacked by either Stalchildren or Poes,always wanting a 'shiny treasure'. You would never understand the intense pain, the intense fear of being followed, of being hunted, hunted by things that are far from human, things with only one goal in life, to kill, to kill for something you don't even know you have.

When I was ten, I was ambushed by a group of Stalchildren, much like the one today, but a little smaller. They overwhelmed me, and I it hadn't been for Areon, then a sickly little colt, I would have died there, right in the middle of nowhere. Ever since that night, Areon's always been by my side, my only friend in all these years of running and fighting.

I guess I've always tried to stay cheerful about life, but sometimes... sometimes I remember my past... sometimes I remember the future that could have been mine. And that's when the whole world seems to be against me, when the whole world seems to want me dead... I used to... silently cry myself to sleep... because there was nothing else I could do...

But... I don't think that will happen anymore... because I've finally met people who accept me for who I am, not for who I might be, not out of pity. I... I'm sorry to lying to you before, I truly truly am. Will you forgive me?"

Finished with her long narrative, Kira burst into tears. Link and Zelda glanced at each other and nodded, as both had long ago realized that gaining Kira's trust would be essential to solving the mystery that they had been thrown into. After all, it's much easier to keep a close eye on a friend than on an enemy. "We forgive you. That's what friends are for, right?" Link said, his eyes bright and cheerful.

"You will? Y- You both forgive me?" Kira asked between sobs.

Zelda smiled. "Of course. Good friends don't hold grudges."

"T- Thank you so so much! I'm so happy that I have more friends now! I- I always thought that no one would want me and that I would make a horrible friend... An- And the only thing I've ever wanted was to have more friends... And now... and now... Oh... I- I don't know what to say!"

"You don't have to say anything. I'm just glad that you actually told us about your past. But I never knew that the Hylian ambassador had a child, or his fate, for that matter. Father always said that it was a pity he had no one to carry on the family name, and left it at that."

"As for me, I'm just glad that my questions are finally cleared up. But make sure that you don't attack without warning next time. That blast of wind really surprised me for a second," commented Link.

"S- Sorry. I- I was afraid th- that something bad would happen and it would be my fault and then everyone would hate me and no one would ever ever want me around anymore..."

"It wouldn't be your fault, and no one _should _blame you," Zelda said gently.

"I- I hope so... But um... w- weren't you about to attack too, Link?"

"Ehehe. I guess I have to start working on that little problem of mine." Link laughed, embarrassed.

Kira smiled at him, but her expression quickly turned to one of nervousness. "I- I'd like to ask one more favor of both of you. Could you... um... please keep my past a secret?"

Zelda looked at her confused. "Certainly. But do you mind if I ask you why?"

"Well... first of all, I don't think anyone would believe my story and I... I kinda want to start a new life here. But I suppose that it would be fine if the Sheikah lady in the castle knew about it. I think she seems like the type of person who would understand..."

"If that's what you want, then you have my word for it. And the Hero of Time always keeps his word."

"I wouldn't say 'always'. You're not keeping your marriage vows to Ruto, are you?" Zelda smiled at Link slyly.

Link blushed. "I didn't know what a marriage ring was! Besides, King Zora wouldn't want his darling daughter to marry some dirt poor Hylian, you should know that oh great Princess of Destiny."

Kira looked at Link and Zelda, surprised. "The Hero of Time? And the Princess of Destiny? Then- Then do you also have the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom?"

"Err..." Link glanced at Zelda, who nodded. "Yeah. But how did you know?" he asked.

"It's an old legend of the Sheikah," answered Kira. "But no one really believes it, or should I say, believed."

"Well... now that you know our little secret, will you make a promise to us? Promise never to tell anyone?" Zelda questioned.

Kira grinned, her tears nearly forgotten thanks to Link and Zelda's bickering. "Heehee! I swear upon my sword and staff that your secret will never be revealed to anyone. Under no circumstances will I speak of your oh so wondrous secret, not in life, not in-"

"Kira! Stop that! You're starting to act like Link!" Zelda laughed.

"What's wrong with acting like me?"

"What's wrong? I'll tell you exactly what's wrong! You're annoying! A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G!"

Kira sighed. They were at it, again, but luckily, a worried voice disrupted the bickering.

"Zelda! Princess Zelda! Are you up there?"

"Yes, Impa. And so are Link and Kira."

"Impa?" Kira asked confused. "The Lady Impa of Kakariko?"

Link nodded. "None other."

A/N: Well how was it? That should solve some of the mysteries. I'm sorry if it seemed a bit rushed. I'll be gone for like a week if anyone cares, so um... look for an update after about a week. Anyway... review away!


	8. Reunion

I'm baaack! Did anyone miss me? Anyone? Oh well... yay! So many reviews! Anyway I have to thank... shadow reaper2, Silverbreeze, Snowsilver, PichuStar, Shadow Girl64, Armageddon1, and Veilius! THANK YOU ALL! Aw... PichuStar and Armageddon1 got another mystery right. But it wouldn't be fun if Link knew about that, now would it? I got a Zelda plushie! Thank you PichuStar! I think I'll make it a... Navi plushie! J/K Hm... I think that's it. Oh wait! Guess there's gonna be another chapter with a long narrative. Don't worry. This one's not as long as the last one. On with the fic!

**Second of the two angsty past chapters! But do heed Link's premonitions! He was right before, after all. XD I also tried to throw in some more "hmm... that's kinda suspicious" moments. More of "hmm... that's REALLY suspicious" moments. XD Though making Kira more and more of a crybaby, who wants to make friends but thinks she can't, are flaws, yes? That and I'll be making her even less magically-capable. XD**

Chapter 8: Reunion

Impa bounded up the steps, dagger in hand. She reached the balcony, quickly surveyed the scene, and let out a low whistle. "This place needs some fixing up. Is everyone all right?"

Link and Zelda nodded, but Kira ran toward her. "Lady Impa! Do you remember me? I'm Kira, the ambassador's daughter! Remember?"

A gasp and tears welled soon after from the Sheikah's eyes. "So you truly are the Kira I once knew. Your mother and I were dear friends. I'd long given up all hope of ever seeing you again, but now you're back, safe and sound."

"Why did you think you would never get to see her again, Impa? Didn't Father always say that you could have permission to leave the castle whenever you want?" asked Zelda.

Impa sighed. "Yes, he did, and I was able to put that to use quite often. But the rest is a long and boring story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Please Lady Impa! Please tell us! Well, at least tell me." Kira answered quickly.

"We've already sat through one long story. I'm sure we can sit through another one, am I right, Zelda?" Link leaned himself against the wall in an as comfortable a position as he could manage.

Zelda nodded, glancing at her guardian. Impa sighed again. "We should start telling you bedtime stories to make you not want to listen to mine. But since we don't and since you probably would balk at the idea of having bedtime stories, I guess I'll just have to start reciting from the beginning.

When I first came to Hyrule Castle Town, I was amazed by all of the busy crowds and colorful signs. Like most of the Sheikah, I'd lived in sleepy little Kakariko Village for my entire life, only leaving occasionally to hunt. But still I preferred peace and quiet to the bustle and dazzle that the Castle Town offered. I decided that I would return to Kakariko the moment my task was done.

That was before I met you, Zelda, the baby heir to the throne, held lovingly in the queen's arms. I sensed something... special about you. I don't know why I did what I did next, but I do know that it was definitely worth it. Hyrule Castle was searching for a Sheikah guardian, and I took the job, and I'm still here today.

But I'm a little off track here, back to the topic. With the King's permission, I traveled back to Kakariko almost every night, aided by warp magic. The Elder always gave me the latest news about the village and about how you, Kira, were doing. That was before he, and all of the other Sheikah, vanished.

I had received no notice that they were leaving, not even a single clue. Since I was quite the celebrity with the Hylian villagers, I tried asking them about it, but they didn't know. I asked them about you, but they always avoided the topic courteously, mumbling something about how they believed whatever 'the legendary Sheikah' told them.

After that incident, I returned fewer and fewer times, finally lowering the number of visits to once each month. One night, I entered Kakariko only to find the entire village feasting. I wasn't aware of any special holidays, so, naturally, I asked them about it. They answered that they had just driven away an evil spirit, and they were celebrating their feat. Then I questioned them about you, but they just replied that no one had seen you for the entire day. I was worried, so I went to your shack to look for you.

But you weren't there. I searched every little corner of Kakariko, from the graveyard to the windmill, but I couldn't find any trace of you. Anxious, I ran out the gates, only to find a faint trail of blood and dirt. I followed it to a river, where I found an imprint of the Hylian symbol in the soft earth. I knew then that it was you, Kira, who the villagers had driven out.

It eased my anxiety a bit to know that you had your weapons with you, but still I searched, and still, I couldn't find you. Sometimes I uncovered your footprints near smoldering traces of a small campfire, sometimes near a slight imprint in a cave, and those discoveries always made my spirits rise, for I knew that you were still alive. I continued looking, never giving up hope, until one day about four years ago.

It was a beautiful morning, one that I remember clearly. The King had scheduled a meeting with the Gerudo leader later that day, and a certain princess, as you, Zelda, and you, Link, probably remember, insisted on waiting for his arrival at the courtyard window, leaving me with an entire morning to myself. I dedicated it to finding you, Kira, and I set out immediately. It was an hour past noon before I found what I was looking for, yet my heart sank the instance I saw it.

I had discovered your footprints next to a rock wall, surrounded by those of Stalchildren, which apparently had also stolen a young foal. I stared at the tracks in disbelief. It couldn't be true, I tried to convince myself, it just couldn't. But I knew it was true. There was no mistaking the obvious signs of a skirmish. I returned to the castle, overwhelmed by sorrow. But a Sheikah is trained not to show emotions easily, so I held back my tears, and walked into the courtyard, thus setting your adventure, Link, into motion.

And through all those years, even though I was busy with the tasks given to me, I've always wondered why fate can be so cruel, but now I know, now I know that we can never truly fathom the decisions of the goddesses, but we can always hope for the best. And that's my part of the story in a nutshell, complete with a bit of a philosophical saying at the end. I hope you enjoyed your little bedtime story, now be off to your rooms." Impa folded her arms against her chest as she tried to look disapprovingly at her Hylian charges.

"Lady Impa... I... I'm so sorry I made you worry about me! I- I didn't know that you would be concerned!" Kira exclaimed.

"That's alright. You couldn't have known, Kira. Nothing matters now that you're back." Impa hugged her tightly, glistening teardrops running down both of their cheeks.

"Aw... that's so sweet, isn't it Link? Would you have done that for me?"

Link nodded, then squeaked in surprise, having understood Zelda's question a bit too late.

Loud crashes issued from the stairs. "Lady Impa! Lady Impa! Are you up there? And is the princess with you? We can't find her in her room!"

"Great. Just what we needed. There's still time before those clumsy idiots get here. Take this key and use it to open the first door on your right. Follow the corridor all the way to the end and you should be able to make it to the floor your rooms are on. Hurry up and go! There might be misunderstandings if the servants find all three of you here." Impa hissed, giving Zelda a light push toward the splintered doorway, before she headed for the stairs herself to deal with the servants.

_Looks like I was right. It's been four years, but we've finally located her. I'll have to report this as soon as possible. I'm lucky that I remembered most of that story, and, judging from their expressions, I said nothing contradictory. Princess Zelda, Hero of Time... I'm sorry for this, but this is for your safety, as well as that of Hyrule, and as the Sage of Shadow, that is my duty!_

Link quickly snatched the key, waited for Zelda and Kira to step through the doorframe, gave the Sheikah a businesslike nod, and disappeared into the shadows himself. True to Impa's word, there was a locked door on the right, an obstacle speedily removed by the key. The three stepped into the pitch-black darkness of the hall, its utter silence disrupted by the night breeze rushing into the open doorway. But silence and darkness soon reigned again, as Link gently shut the heavy oak door as silently as possible, and then cursed himself for not bringing a light.

The only solution to the problem was to stumble forward, and hope that the corridor was relatively flat and relatively short. Zelda, in the lead, soon found herself wishing for a lamp, as she staggered into spider web after spider web. Link wasn't of any help with his unwanted reminders of how Skullutas were much bigger than the spiders in the hall. The princess felt rather sorry for Kira, who had stayed quiet the entire time, no doubt a bit unnerved by Link's warnings of giant spider monsters.

The Hero of Time was in the middle of one of his Skulluta speeches when Zelda's cry of delight startled him. "Look! A light!" she shouted, running toward it with Kira close behind, before Link could contribute a reminder of how Poes always carried either torches or lanterns. He sighed and followed their example.

An oil lamp was hanging on the wall, its dancing fire shedding a comforting glow around it. Zelda quickly lifted it off its hook and took the lead again with renewed determination. Link shrugged. It wasn't a Poe after all. He adjusted his grip on the Gilded Sword, and continued onward after Zelda and Kira, taking care not to fall too far behind.

The trio kept their steady pace through the dank corridor in silence, with Link lost in thought after being told by Zelda that his monster stories were rather... unwelcome. "Kira, I've been thinking about your account of the monster attacks, did they ever mention something about a 'Boss'?" he asked abruptly.

"N- No. I- I don't think so. Tonight was the first time I heard it. Wh- Why?" she answered, eyes darting around at the mossy stone walls and the various paintings that covered them.

"The Stalchildren in the morning were under orders of a 'Boss' and they wanted your treasure. The Stalfos we just defeated were also under orders of a 'Boss' and they wanted your pendant..." Link paused to let his words sink in.

"S- So does that mean my pendant is the treasure that all those monsters have been wanting?"

"It does seem that way, doesn't it? I was hoping that you would be able to tell us about it, but obviously, that's not exactly possible."

"Then does that also mean that my pendant's the target for two or three warring monster factions? Or something else like that."

"Either that, or it's one 'Boss' who wants it really badly." Zelda quickly interjected.

"But wh- why? My pendant's just an old trinket! I'm sure there are plenty of other Triforce shaped golden jewelry in Hyrule. And I'm sure that they're all more valuable than mine."

"I can't give you an answer for that one. But like I said before, I'm just glad we've established the fact that you're not some hired assassin who's using the image of an innocent victim of mistreatment as a cover-up."

"Link! Isn't that a little too harsh?" exclaimed Zelda.

Kira smiled. "N- No, it's OK, really. I probably would be a little suspicious too. But how would you know that I'm not magically changing my appearance to look like Kira and fool everyone, even Impa?"

"Easy. No assassin would be able to tell a story AND concentrate on keeping a steady amount of tears flowing at all times." Link grinned.

"I- I guess. Ahh... By the way Zelda, what is this corridor supposed to be for?" asked Kira.

"I'm not sure. I've never been here before. But I think this is the place where we keep old paintings of valued officials and friends who have passed away."

Link glanced uneasily around about him. "So in other words, this is where you hang the portraits of dead people. This place is spooky. When are we gonna get to that door Impa mentioned?"

"Soon. Come on Kira, let's go a bit faster because the Hero of Time is scared of a few paintings."

"Hey! I'm not scared! Just... disturbed. Don't listen to her Kira... Kira?"

"What's the matter Kira? Did you see a ghost?"

"This... this painting! I... I think that it's of my father!"

She pointed to a portrait of a middle-aged man, dressed in a plain red tunic, the only decoration being a small phoenix emblem sewn onto the right sleeve. He had tousled brown hair, kind brown eyes, and a slight smile on his face. His skin was extremely pale, and his entire figure was rather thin, giving him the appearance of one who was constantly ill or in suffering. But the bright glint in the man's eyes gave a completely different impression, one of fierce determination and energy. The artist had depicted that well, the glint being pretty much one of the only things in the painting that wasn't sickly looking. Below the delicate gold frame, was a rusted metal plaque, the only word still readable being, "Ambassador."

"It's him. I know it's him! And now... after all these years, I'm finally able to see what my father looks like!" Kira mumbled excitedly.

"You have his eyes. And with the same fire in them." Zelda agreed.

Kira looked at the ground sadly. "I think that fire... may have died a bit..."

The Princess of Hyrule shook her head. "Don't say that. And don't let it die."

Link sighed. This emotional stuff was really starting to bug him. Plus, they weren't all that great at it and were just being overly dramatic. "C'mon Kira, we can't have you standing here reminiscing; you'll catch a cold or something. We can go to the castle library tomorrow. Y'know, to find some more stuff out 'bout your parents, that is, if you want to go." He added, before any more sentimental things could "weaken his sense of masculinity."

Kira nodded in reply, took one last look at the painting, and bolted off blindly into the darkness of the hallway. Zelda glared at Link, who didn't quite catch the look, and ran after her friend, shouting, "Kira!" Link quickly decided that getting left behind wasn't quite the best idea and hurried after both.

Her tears flowing freely, Kira ignored Zelda's cries and kept stumbling farther and farther into the dark. She didn't know where she was going. She just wanted to run, run somewhere to hide her sorrow, somewhere where no one could find her. And yet she still didn't know why.

_I... I... Why am I doing this? Why am I running away? Why can't I control myself? I said... I said that I would stay cheerful... but... but..._

She let out a faint cry as she tripped on a rock. Kira lay on the ground, sobbing, until Zelda gently pulled her up. "Please Kira. Don't cry. I know how you feel. Link does too. We've all lost loved ones. And we all want them back. But it's just not how the goddesses meant for things to be."

"Zelda's right, Kira. It's no use crying over the past. Life goes on, time goes on. Move on with your future and try not to let your emotions get you. Just remember that if your parents were here right now, I bet they'd be sad if you're sad, so don't be sad."

Kira wiped her tears on her shirt. "Th- Thank you again... for cheering me up. I'm fine now, I think, thanks to your advice."

"Aww... I'm not that good with moving speeches yet. I've got Zelda to thank for what little I know. But those mood swings of yours can get rather scary. One minute you're happy and the next you're sad. Come to think of it, Zelda's like that sometimes, one sec she's nice and the next she's mean. Or is she always mean? Eep. OK, I'll stop now." Zelda's fist was hovering dangerously close to Link's face, prompting the quick closing of his speech.

Kira smiled. "Watching you two makes me feel a lot happier. It IS good to know that there are blossoming feelings in this serious place!"

"You can't possibly be serious," Link mumbled, but Zelda only blushed.

"Heehee! I'm right aren't I? So... what can I do for you two? Need somewhere romantic to go? How 'bout Lake Hylia? Seems like a really nice place from what I've heard."

"Never been to Lake Hylia? It's a nice place, sure, but I wouldn't want to be there. There might be... accidents involving... um... fish," stammered Link.

Kira looked at Zelda quizzically, but the princess only said, "You really like this whole matchmaking thing, don't you? We should let you do more matchmaking stuff, as long as it doesn't involve me, or Link. He's just a friend, anyway. And as for Lake Hylia, it's kind of hard to explain, but maybe we could take you there someday, and show you firsthand."

"Oh. Fine. I'll leave the topic alone for now. Hey! Is that the exit?" Kira gestured wildly to a thin line of light glowing down the hallway.

"YEAH! Finally out of this place! Time to get some sleep!" Link ran excitedly to the source of the light, but, finding the door locked, feverishly searched his clothes for the key, conveniently forgetting that he had given it to Zelda to keep safe.

The princess shook her head hopelessly at Link's behavior. She fit the key into the keyhole, turned the item, and shoved the door open. Impa was right. They had reached the floor with their rooms. She turned back to Link and Kira and asked, "Are you going to be coming or what?"

Both nodded and rushed out of the corridor, happy to be free from its dank atmosphere, and in Kira's case, bad memories. The trio walked casually to their rooms, said their "goodnights" and shut the doors of their chambers, almost at the same time.

Link yawned as he walked into his room. It was either really late at night, or really early in the morning. He didn't really care. All he knew was that he was tired and that there was a big Guay sitting on the windowsill. A Guay on the windowsill? Link crept quietly to his desk, where he had left his bow. The Guay apparently hadn't noticed his arrival, since it still sat there, preening its feathers.

_Stupid bird. Would just scare it away, but it might be a spy._

The hero notched an arrow to his bow, took aim, and fired. The projectile hit its target, as the crow squawked once and toppled out the window, dissolving into black smoke. Link grinned and put his weapons back on his desk. He arranged his messy pillows and climbed into bed. But sleep didn't come as easily as he had imagined, as a scene kept playing over and over in his mind. Link stared at the ceiling.

_Why do I keep seeing these images? A little girl's cries, a mother's frantic screams. A dark place with dark, shadowy magic. And the Triforce. At least, a shadow of it._

Link rolled over in his bed and buried his head into the pillows. It was nice and warm and cozy, not like the damp corridor... so comfortable. He registered only one last thought before falling fast asleep.

_Something wasn't right about tonight... I just don't know what._

A/N: Whoa... what a um... strange chapter... School is the worst thing in the world... I think it's affecting me... ah well, hope that chapter helps explain some more things. BWAHAHA! Will Link ever know the true story? Who knows? Anyway, we'll be getting to the action parts soon so keep the reviews coming!


	9. Preparations

Aw... not as many reviews as last time... Thank you to Silverbreeze, Veilius, Silence-Darkness, and AlmightyIshboo! Yep, Silverbreeze, school is very very very very bad. I think the class I hate the most is English. Ironic, isn't it? But writing essays after essays after essays really gets painful after a while. Veilius, I'm kinda following the manga, and I'm kinda not. See, I follow the game whenever there's a conflict between the game and the manga, but I still use the manga for some random ideas. Sorry if the explanation's confusing. Yeah, the guy in the painting is Link's dad. It'll all come together later on. Whee! I love it when people guess about the story! It makes it more interesting, doncha agree? But only I know what will really happen! Good job AlmightyIshboo! Nice observation! Keep observing and reviewing!

Hehe. I found on this website... that Kira means 'sun' in Persian! And Areon's the name of this winged horse... I honestly honestly did not know that... It was a total coincidence! I just took Epona's name, changed the 'p' to 'r,' switched the letters around... and voila! Come to think of it... that's kinda scary... it's the same exact name! As for what Kira has to do with 'sun'... only I know! HAHAHA! Oh and I also found that Zora means 'dawn' in Greek... strange... And there's a frozen fishfood company called RUTO! All that info was kinda random... wasn't it? On to the fic!

Chapter 9: Preparations

Knock. Knock.

"Go away!" Zelda buried her head into her pillows and tried to fall asleep again. She was still exhausted from the previous night's events and definitely not in the mood for any royal duties that she might have conveniently forgotten. And then there was the matter of the dream and the uneasiness that it brought. Like Link, she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something... missing... from the stories they had heard the night before. But Impa wouldn't lie, would she?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sounds came louder this time. Zelda groaned and called out wearily, "Who is it?"

"Your Highness, the King wishes for your presence at breakfast."

Zelda sighed. "Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Yes, Your Highness," came the reply, followed by fading footsteps.

The Princess of Hyrule slid out of bed, falling on the ground in a manner very unacceptable for a princess. Her arms and legs were sore, her energy was pretty much completely depleted, and she STILL had to get out of bed early. So maybe it wasn't THAT early, but it was still pretty early in the day for someone who had been knocked out, dragged a heavy sword up a whole lot of stairs, and run through a corridor, all in the previous night.

_Link's probably still snoring the morning away._

Zelda slipped into a plain clean dress and proceeded to perform her necessary morning cleansing rituals. She skipped out the door quite a few minutes later, heading toward the dining hall. (A/N: Do they have a breakfast hall, a lunch hall, and a dinner hall? I dunno. I'm just gonna make it the dining hall if they're not using it for dinner.)

A cleanly dressed court servant ushered her through the doors, head hung down in subservience. Zelda patted the young man on the back and winked at him. She dismissed him with a simple wave of her hand, leaving him to fantasize over the fact that the esteemed Princess of Hyrule had not only noticed him, but had also treated him kindly.

"Father! I'm here!" Zelda shouted cheerfully, but her joyfulness quickly turned to disgust as she spotted another figure seated next to the King. Prince Lyson.

King Harkinan looked up from the steamy mass of food on his plate. "There you are, Zelda! Sit down! We just started a moment ago." He glanced down again, quickly starting to wolf down his breakfast in a manner not quite befitting a king.

Zelda took a seat as far away from the Prince of Calatia as possible, thanking the servant who soon brought her breakfast. Meanwhile, Prince Lyson was crankily picking at his food; moving the scrambled eggs around, poking the buttered toast. "You call THIS food? We royalty deserve much better than this! Chef! Do you have any more of those sumptuous Cucco brains?" he yelled at the bewildered head cook, who nodded his head hastily and ran off to prepare the delicacies for the prince.

"Stupid brat. We give him perfectly decent meals and he still complains. Hmph. I would tell him to be more like Link, but that would be way too hard for a spoiled jerk like him." Zelda grumbled under her breath, sticking her fork into the eggs.

"Your Majesty, the Cucco brains you called for."

"Excellent. Bring them here." Lyson rubbed his hands together in glee as the dish was set in front of him. Zelda gagged at the sight... and smell of the mass of gooey substance sitting on the plate. She hastily stood up from the table and was just about to run off when the King called to her.

"Well my dear princess. Are you excited that the ball will be held next week? I know how much effort you have been putting into it!"

"Of course, Father. I'm especially looking forward to dancing with Link! That reminds me, I'll have to find a partner for Kira! I'll be going now!"

King Harkinian nodded, satisfied. "Enjoy yourself. Make su- oh, Prince Lyson did you have something to say?"

Lyson glared angrily at Zelda. "Did you not say last night that I was to be the guest-of-honor? And is not the guest-of-honor the only one who can dance with the princess?"

"Ah. Yes. You are absolutely correct, Prince Lyson. Of course. Of course. How could I have forgotten that? Zelda dear, I am truly sorry, but that is our traditional rule. Let the Prince be the guest-of-honor this year. I know that you were planning on giving Link that position, but after all, he has kept it for the last few years. I am sure he will not mind."

"He probably won't, but I will," Zelda muttered under her breath. Then, in a louder voice, she complained, "But Father! I thought you would always let me pick the guest-of-honor!"

"True. True," the King answered sheepishly. "But you have not chosen yet, have you?"

Zelda gritted her teeth. It was true; she hadn't informed the King of her decisions yet. Lyson snickered rudely, but was quickly silenced by one of Zelda's glares.

_I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! Why I ought to- hey! I know how to get out of this dilemma!_

She flashed the King one of her sweetest smiles. "Father dear, I have an absolutely delightful idea. Would you like to hear it?"

"That would be wonderful! I would surely love to," he answered, not noticing Lyson's expression of dismay.

Zelda continued with her plan. "Well, I was thinking, that we could have this little competition. Teams of two would participate in events. And... the winning team will be personally rewarded by me!"

"Why that IS a marvelous idea! It would make waiting for the day of the ball much less tedious," King Harkinian exclaimed, but seeing Lyson's unhappy looks, added, "But of course, I will have to offer some suggestions."

"I'll listen to whatever you have to say, Father!" Zelda blurted out, practically about to explode with excitement.

"One, Prince Lyson will still be the guest-of-honor. Two... well... there is no two. I trust you will be ready with all the rules and regulations soon, am I correct in stating this?"

"Absolutely, Father! You can count on me! Oh and one more thing, our traditions don't demand that there can be only one guest-of-honor, right?"

"Not any of which I am aware."

"Great! I'll be off on my way now! Enjoy your breakfast!" With that, Zelda skipped merrily out the doors, leaving the King with a sulky Lyson, who immediately stalked out the hall the other way, heading toward his room.

King Harkinian looked around the empty dining hall, bewildered. "Young people these days. I never will understand them," he stated to the table and chairs.

Zelda ran the entire way to Link's room. She knocked excitedly on the door. "Link! Link! Open up! I've got something to tell you!"

When she received no reply, she turned the knob and walked in, planning on dumping cold water all over Link's lazy form. But the bed was already made, the pillows arranged tidily, and everything else in the room was organized and clean. Zelda walked to Link's table, confused, and spotted a note, written in neat handwriting. She picked it up.

"Dear Zelda, I went with Kira to the library. If we're not there then we're probably at the stables. Have fun finding us! Link."

The princess sighed. For once he wasn't being lazy. And she had really been looking forward to dumping water on him. She noticed writing on the back of the note so she turned it around. There, in messy handwriting was written a few more lines. She continued reading.

"PS: You're probably wondering why everything's so neat. Well, I just felt like being neat today, but this is proof that I haven't lost my messiness."

Zelda grinned. "Hasn't lost his sense of humor either." She put the note back on the desk and headed for the castle library. There, she found from the librarian that Link and Kira had left about an hour ago and that Kira had borrowed a book on Hylian ambassadors. Zelda thanked him for his help and started toward the stables, taking a route through the kitchens to get a few carrots for the horses. Along the way, she was greeted by various servants and knights, whom were all dismissed by a cheerful nod or wave.

The royal stables were filled with the sounds of horses stamping, neighing, and making other random noises. Zelda waved at the stablehand, who was busy tossing hay into stacks. He waved back and silently motioned with his hand toward the back of the stables. The princess nodded and followed his gesture to the last two stalls, but not before giving him the carrots she had brought.

"Hey Zelda! Looks like you found us! Had breakfast yet?" Link poked his head out from the stall on the left, as Kira peeked out from the one on the right.

Seeing Zelda, she grinned and said, "Link's been bragging that he got up earlier than you today. Did you have a good sleep?"

"I WAS having a good sleep, until I had to wake up and eat breakfast with Father and Lyson. Ooooh... that creep! Good thing I thought up a foolproof plan for keeping him away from me at the ball!"

Link stepped out of the stall, brush in hand. Epona tried to follow him, but withdrew when she saw that the visitor was only Zelda. "C'mon! Tell us! What plan?" Link asked eagerly.

"Yeah! I wanna know too!" Kira exclaimed, fully appearing in the hallway.

"That's what I came for. Oh! Is that Areon?" Zelda pointed to the gray horse whose head was sticking out of the doorway.

"Yeah. C'mon out Areon. That's a good boy!"

The stallion obediently stepped out of his stall and looked at Zelda.

"He has such a pretty coat! And he looks really strong too!"

Epona poked her head out again and snorted in annoyance.

"You're really pretty too, Epona," Zelda added, prompting a satisfied whinny from the mare, withdrawing her head again.

"Aw, C'mon Zelda. We're not gonna wait here forever y'know." Link complained as Kira directed Areon back to his stall.

"Fine. Fine. I'll start. See, Father wants me to dance with Lyson because he's the guest-of-honor. But then that doesn't mean that I'd still have to dance with him if I had MORE than one guest-of-honor. Sooo... I'm planning something that will definitely put you two into that position." She paused there for dramatic effect. "A competition."

Kira looked at her, puzzled. "What kind of competition? And why would we be guaranteed to become guests-of-honor? And why can't you just make us guests-of-honor instead of Lyson?"

"Well, first of all, Lyson's a foreign visitor so we have to treat him honorably. Second, Father had me promise that Lyson would remain the guest-of-honor. Third, I just said that the winners of the competition would receive a prize, but I didn't specify what the prize would be. And lastly, since it's going to be a two-person team competition, I'm going to make the events ones that you two excel at," Zelda explained. "By the way Kira, did you find what you were looking for?"

"Wha? Oh. You mean this?" she asked, holding up a thick book. "There's a couple chapters in her 'bout my father, but it just says that he mysteriously disappeared a few years before the war. It's OK though, 'cause I got to learn some more things about him, like how he worked his way up from a scholar to ambassador."

Zelda smiled. "That's good. I'm glad our library was of help. But, anyway, any ideas for competition events? Got any suggestions, Link?"

"I dunno. But maybe we could do some chariot archery thing. Y'know. I could hit the targets and Kira could control the chariot." Link said thoughtfully.

"Hey, not a bad idea, Link! We could use that..."

"I have one! How 'bout a sword-fighting event? Link and I both have swords..."

"That's a good one too! We should get just one more idea. Hmm... how about a tracking contest? We could let a pig or some other animal to run around a set area of Hyrule Field, and the first team to bring it back would win. And it would probably be easier for you two because you and Link know Hyrule Field very well, I think, and your magic would really help, Kira."

"Sounds good enough to me! All in favor... um... all in favor raise your hands!" Link exclaimed, as three hands shot up simultaneously into the air, joined by whinnies from both sides.

"Then it's settled. I'm going to go tell Father about it so we can start spreading the news. You two can start training. Oh and Kira, did I tell you that you'll be coming to the ball whether you like it or not?"

"Me? Ball? But... but... I don't have a dress! And I've never been to a ball before! I wouldn't know what to do!" Kira stammered.

Zelda giggled. "All that can be arranged. Link, would you mind letting Kira choose one of your many saddles for Areon? Father's probably going to require it for whatever reason he'll decide to give."

"Yes sir! Can do sir!" Link saluted sharply to the princess, who gave him a slight punch in the stomach as she left, giggling.

Kira turned to face Link. "Well... should we get started?"

"You bet."

Almost an hour later, Prince Lyson burst into the throne room, just as Zelda finished explaining her plans and ideas to the King.

"King Harkinian, sir, your Majesty, I would like to join that competition that Princess Zelda was talking about," he blurted.

"Why of course! Do you mind if I ask why?"

Lyson smirked. "I want to represent Calatia in these... events."

"Quite a worthy motive, I must say. But do you realize that this competition requires two-person teams?" King Harkinian asked.

"I do. And that is why I already sent for our best knight. He will be arriving in a few days or so. Calatia, after all, is not that far away from here." Lyson sneered at Zelda. "And as for you, princess, tell your little commoner friends that they should give up now."

"And how would you know that they're entering?" Zelda questioned defiantly.

"I have my ways," the prince replied haughtily.

"Now. Now. It's only a friendly contest. No need to get bitter. We have much work to do if we are to inform the whole of Hyrule of this decision!" the King said, cutting off the argument before it could get out of control.

A/N: How many people think that Lyson is the 'Boss?' All will be revealed... soon... MWAHAHAHAHA! The story's gonna start picking up speed after two or three more chapters so keep the reviews coming in! Remember, reviews make me really happy! And a happy authoress updates faster!


	10. Din's Race

The long awaited chapter has finally arrived!! Um... it was long awaited, right? Eep... sorry!! It's just that I had a tiny little case of writer's block regarding this and the next two or three chapters, but I've got the four or five chapters after that all thought out so yeah... And I've been working on my other fic... Alright then, on to the thank you's!!! I would like to thank... Veilius, AlmightyIshboo, PichuStar, Silverbreeze, and WolfYoukai64! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! You're all REALLY REALLY REALLY REAAAALLY AWESOME PEOPLE!!!!!! One more thing, the chariots in this chapter are special "Hyrule chariots" aka "chariots made to fit the story." OK then, unless you're Veilius you can skip the next paragraph and go directly to the story.

WAAHHH!!!! I made Kira seem like a Mary-Sue????? EEEEK!!!! I was trying so hard to avoid it!!!!!!!! Grr... must... try... harder!!!! Anyhoo... I promise you this: Kira will never never never (3x negative = negative!) have a "romantic relationship" with Link. She'll just be a friend, nothing else. And about Areon being fast... aren't stallions normally faster than mares? Sorry if they're not, but that's just how it is in my screwed-up little mind. And since he's been running away a lot... he should be pretty fast, right? Oh yeah and well... I probably should let you figure this one out by yourself, but... ah whatever... Kira's not gonna be as good as Link at swordsmanship and she's not gonna be as good as Zelda at magic. And as for Link's dad's occupation... let's just say that you pretty much got it right... I put a couple of tiny clues into the previous chapters, but maybe they weren't really emphasized... oh well... that was long wasn't it? I'm sorry, but I kinda felt I needed to explain some unclear points. After all, I sure wouldn't want to lose such a nice reviewer like you! But thanks for pointing out stuff like that to me! Keep doing that! As a beginning authoress I really appreciate reviews like that, as long as they're not too mean!

Chapter 10: Din's Race

It was the morning of the first of two competition days, the morning that practically all of Hyrule had been eagerly awaiting. The castle stables were quiet, all of the horses outside preparing for the big day. Everything seemed peaceful, until a loud thud sounded from inside the wooden structure.

"You WILL TELL me what else the Princess and her little friends said about the competition. Or else."

"Please don't hurt me Your Majesty! Sir Link and Lady Kira only told the Princess that they were goin' enter the contest! Just like I tol' you few days 'go!"

The attacker snarled and shoved the sniveling stablehand even harder into the wall. "You're keeping something from me. I didn't trail the Princess here for nothing. They were talking much too long to only say that they were going to enter. Now speak or I shall make your death a horrible one!" The figure held a jeweled dagger to the stablehand's neck, backing up his threat.

"No, no! Please don't! Please don't! I'll tell! I'll tell! The Princess wanted Sir Link and Lady Kira t'win so she could make'em guests-of-honor or somethin' like that so they chose three contests that Sir Link and Lady Kira were good at!"

"Is that all?" the attacker asked coldly.

"Yes, yes! Now please lemme go!" The stablehand whimpered as he was rudely pulled onto the ground.

Sheathing the dagger, the attacker laughed at the pathetic sight of the stablehand curled on the ground in pain and fear. "I wouldn't have killed you anyway. It's not my style to get a servant's blood on my hands. But remember this well, if you let out a single word of this... conversation... I will personally send a hundred of our best and cruelest men to kill you. Understand?"

The stablehand weakly nodded, as the attacker continued. "Now as the Prince of Calatia, I order you to continue with your work as if nothing had ever happened. Go muck out the stalls! NOW!"

The stablehand whimpered again and set to his work immediately, leaving Prince Lyson to mumble to himself. "People call me spoiled, but I call myself a person who will use whatever it takes, be it violence, persuasion, or trickery, to get my way!" With that, he walked out the stables, smirking with glee at his newfound power.

An hour later, the trumpets lining the castle road blared as the King of Hyrule, followed by Princess Zelda and all of the competitors, rode past on horseback. Each and every horse sported accessories and decorations, even Areon, who had been fitted with a sleek black leather saddle from Link's collection.

The procession slowly made its way down the winding road to the newly built stadium. Link grinned mischievously as he noticed groups of excited girls squeezing through the crowd to get a better view of him. He urged Epona to Areon's side, and, when he had assured himself that he had the girls' attention, winked at Kira, smiled, and rode away, leaving Kira very confused and unaware of all of the angry looks that were being shot at her.

The Hero of Time glanced at the billowy clouds in the pale blue sky. It was going to be a beautiful day. A perfect day for a fun and friendly competition, that is, if Lyson was ever going to stop muttering about murder and death. Link looked at the clouds again. Then again, maybe it was going to be a horrible rotten day. He shrugged to himself.

_Never was a fortuneteller and never will be._

The stadium soon loomed ahead, practically glowing in the early noon sun. Its pure white marble contrasted greatly with the dark expanse of firmly packed dirt. Zelda couldn't help but smile at the crowd's collective "Ah's" and "Ooo's." This was going to be a competition to remember; she was sure of that.

The King dismounted his horse and walked up to the raised podium, lifting one hand for silence. All chatter ceased as Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and even a few randomly scattered Gerudos fell to intently listening to the King of Hyrule's words. They were few, yet perfectly selected for the occasion. "People of our fair Hyrule. I am very honored indeed to have you all here for this very special competition. Seeing as most, if not all, of you know the rules by heart, I shall not waste any more of our competitors' precious time. Now let the-"

King Harkinian paused in his speech as a flustered Lyson ran up the stairs of the dais. "Your Majesty! Please wait a moment longer! My knight has not arrived yet!"

"Father! We can't! We can't put the competition on hold just because one person has not arrived yet!" Zelda protested.

"I know, Zelda, but we must treat the Prince of Calatia with hospitality as befitting a visitor of his status." The King sighed and turned back to Lyson. "We will wait. But for only a moment."

Link groaned. "At this rate, we're gonna have to waste an entire day just waiting for the stupid guy." He unsheathed the Gilded Sword and began to fiddle with it, as Kira glanced nervously at the crowds.

"Link... there's so many people here! What if someone recognizes me?" she asked.

"Nah. Don't worry. Even if they do they can't do anything to you. Besides, it's not like you have a sacred duty to destroy anyone from Kakariko."

Kira giggled. "If I did, then I'd have to kill myself!"

"And Impa," Link added, sheathing his sword and pulling out his shield. "Why don't you use this time to get ready or something?"

Kira nodded silently and patted Areon on the head. The stallion whinnied happily, causing Epona to give him a jealous glance. Link sighed and ran his fingers through her mane, satisfying her need for attention. It looked like he wasn't the only one anxious for the competition to start.

Fifteen minutes passed by, each one seeming longer than the next, but the mysterious knight of whom Lyson spoke never arrived. "Prince Lyson. The competition must start. I am truly sorry that your knight never arrived. He must have been detained, somehow," the King said impatiently.

Lyson stared off into the distance, as far away from the town gate as possible. A cloud of dust appeared on the horizon and he squinted his eyes to get a better look. "Yes, it will start. My knight has arrived," he exclaimed triumphantly.

All of the gathered people, competitors and audience alike, craned their necks to get a good look at the latecomer. Their wishes were soon granted, as a dusty and sweat-covered black stallion galloped into the stadium, almost trampling more than ten people, who dove out of the way just in time. The horse paused in front of the podium, its rider dismounting with a loud thud. A long cloak covered the man from head to toe, his entire face and body hidden by shadows. The only plainly visible feature of the knight was a gigantic battle-axe, its blade coated with dried blood. Link shuddered as the man thundered up the stairs to the King, towering imposingly over him. The Hero of Time couldn't help but feel threatened by the knight's menacing air, which, surprisingly, reminded him of that of an Iron Knuckle.

The mysterious knight stared straight into the King's eyes for a moment before turning to Prince Lyson, who greeted him with a haughty smile. "So you have finally arrived! I could have you killed right now on the spot for being tardy, but I require your assistance for these events. Why are you late and why is blood smeared all over your axe?"

The knight merely stared at Lyson and answered, in a cold, hollow voice, "I was attacked."

Prince Lyson shivered involuntarily as he returned his knight's passionless gaze. "Good. I see you have solved the problem." Then, turning to King Harkinian, he announced, "Your Majesty, we can begin now."

The King nodded amiably and turned to the gathered crowd, which was straining to hear the private conversation. "Now, let the competition... BEGIN!"

Loud cheers rang through the air at those words; people dashed to and fro for the best seats; competitors started to line up for the first event. It was total chaos, but it was also this chaos at which the Princess of Hyrule smiled. Zelda surveyed the scene happily.

_If everything goes according to plan, I'll be rid of that Lyson forever!_

She grinned at the thought and followed her father to the seats, which had been prepared for them. The first event would be starting soon!

Kira eyed their competition nervously. There were Zoras on dainty white horses, Gerudos on their big black mounts, Gorons with only their tough skin to help them roll along the ground. Prince Lyson was there with his knight, along with their horses, a lovely palomino mare and the black stallion from before. She felt a firm hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Link, who was smiling at her. "Hey. Don't be nervous." He grinned and directed Epona toward the bronze chariot in front of them, adjusting the position of his quiver as he went.

Taking a deep breath, Kira urged Areon to follow him, yelling, "How do you know that one's ours?"

"I know 'cause it's got our name on it." Link held up a white placard. "See?"

"Oh."

Link fastened the two horses to the leather belts hanging from the front of the chariot, helped Kira up into her seat, and took up his position in the back. He strummed the bowstring a few times, and, assured that it was taut, fitted an arrow to it and awaited the signal to begin. It only took a few more minutes before all of the competitors were set and ready. The royal guard raised his hand into the air. "You will begin when I drop my arm!" he announced and began to count.

"One."

Kira shifted eagerly in her seat and gripped the reins tighter.

"Two."

Lyson glanced bitterly at Link and Kira, pulling on his reins as hard as he could.

"Three..."

Link pulled back his bowstring and brought the arrow up to a comfortable level.

_This is it._

"GO!" The guard dropped his arm, prompting the simultaneous bounding forward of a large group of horses, each striving their best to win.

Areon and Epona quickly gained the lead, matching their strides to gain fair ground. Soon, they were far enough from the pack to give Link quite an easy shot at the upcoming target.

"Zzzzzzttt!!!! THUNK!"

An arrow with green feathers hit its mark dead center. Link grinned. This was going to be easier than he thought.

After quite a few more effortless shots, all hitting their targets straight in the middle, Link chanced a peek at the competition. Lyson and the mysterious knight appeared to be second, with the knight mowing down the targets with his gigantic longbow. Wait... mowing down? Link glanced ahead again, and after taking care of the next target, took a closer look at the knight and his peculiar style of archery.

"ZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!!!!!!! CRAAACK!!"

"Mowing down" was definitely the right choice of words. The thick black-feathered arrow flew at such force that it cracked the wooden target. Link winced.

_Hate to get that guy mad._

"Hey Link! Watch out for these next three! They're really close together."

Link nodded and strung three arrows to his bow.

"Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!" Three targets, three arrows, three dead-center-ask-no-questions-about-it shots. This competition was actually starting to get fun.

Epona and Areon dashed under the line of brightly colored flags just as the royal guard yelled another order, although inaudible thanks to the thundering of hooves striking dirt. "This lap is gonna be a straight out race to the finish line!" Link yelled to Kira.

She nodded and relaxed her hold on the reins a little, prompting a burst of speed from the two horses. They weren't showing any signs of tiring, an observation Kira noted to great pleasure. Link put his bow down and leaned back to enjoy the cool wind blowing through his hair. He noticed that Lyson was ferociously whipping his horses to run faster. The hero sighed to himself. The poor animals were going to be in serious need for medical treatment after the race. Of course, he couldn't help but stick his tongue out at the furious prince, who, after seeing it, became even angrier.

Link closed his eyes for a second, before feeling an unnatural blast of wind whistling past his ear. He caught a glimpse of a few black feathers sticking from the ground, and turning back toward the trailing competition, saw the Calatian knight stringing yet another arrow to his bow. In one swift and fluid motion, Link raised his Hylian Shield to block the incoming projectile. He heard the loud metallic clang of iron striking iron, felt the shock wave of the collision jolting through his right arm. Link clenched his teeth, ignoring the sudden wave of pain that passed as quickly as it had come.

"What's wrong?" Kira glanced back to see Link with his shield still raised.

"The sore losers are firing at us," he answered, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible and lowering his shield.

Kira looked to see the knight stringing yet another arrow to his longbow. "Are they allowed to do that?" she asked, a little nervous and unbelieving at the same time.

Link raised his shield again, this time supporting it with his left hand to reduce the shock exerted on his right. "Well, the rules don't really say that they can't." He grabbed his bow and an arrow from his quiver, ready to fire back.

Another black-feathered arrow flew over their heads, planting itself in front of Epona and Areon. The two horses, spooked, reared up, causing the chariot to halt abruptly, throwing the rest of Link's arrows out of his quiver. At that moment, Lyson's chariot raced by, with the Prince laughing at their misfortune. The knight, however, only stared icily at the still panicking horses and Kira's desperate attempts at calming them down.

Link cursed under his breath. His arrows were scattered everywhere on the ground and there was no time to pick them all up. Kira had succeeded in soothing Areon, but Epona was still rearing wildly. The calming melody of Epona's Song, whistled by Link, was finally able to relax the mare.

"Let's go! The others are catching up!" Link yelled to Kira. It was true; the rest of the competition was steadily gaining ground.

"But what about your arrows?" she yelled back, picking up the loosely hanging reins.

"I can get more. Just go already! We still have half a lap to catch up to Lyson!"

"Got it."

With that, the two horses burst off at top speed, quickly lengthening the distance between them and the others. Link kept his eyes trained on the track in front of him, ready to fire his last remaining arrow at the most fitting time. Soon enough, the cloud of dust trailing Lyson's chariot drifted into sight. The hero narrowed his glance, concentrating on his target. He whispered to himself, "One, two..."

The chariot appeared in his line of sight. "THREE!!" Link fired his arrow and it flew straight into the air, lodging itself in the ground before the horses, just as the knight's arrow had done.

"Nice shot!" Kira grinned as the palomino mare and the black stallion reared up, thrashing the air with their hooves.

"Yep." Link waved cheerily at Lyson as they passed by, taking care to relish the wicked glance that the Prince was giving him.

A second later, Epona and Areon dashed right past the finish line as the spectators erupted into cheers, celebrating the win of their favorite "knight" of Hyrule. Among them was Zelda, cheering the loudest. Link blushed as Kira nudged him in the side, signaling at the princess. The chariot slowed to a stop, with Link leaping down first, and, always the gentleman, helping Kira down after, despite her protests. The two petted and congratulated their horses, then were surrounded by a wildly celebrating crowd of onlookers, who lifted them into the air.

Link looked to see Kira, clearly embarrassed and shy. "So, how does it feel to have so many people cheering you on?" he asked.

"It feels... so unnatural... I don't think I could ever get used to it."

Link nodded. "Sure, that's what they all say."

Kira grinned sheepishly. "That was kinda lame, wasn't it? I didn't know what else to say anyway, but it does feel pretty cool."

The crowd carried the two all the way to the podium, where the King and Zelda were waiting. "Congratulations. You have won the first event. That was quite a splendid show of archery and horsemanship!" King Harkinian smiled.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," answered Link and Kira, bowing out of respect.

"The n-"

"The next event will be starting after lunch. You were awesome!" Zelda interjected.

"A-HEM!" the King coughed purposely.

"Sorry Father."  
  
"Do not fret over it. Contestants, you heard the Princess. Like she said, you have the entire time from now to after lunch to prepare for the next event, the tracking contest. I would suggest getting some time to rest. Enjoy your break!" the King of Hyrule announced to the now gathering competitors, including Prince Lyson, who was grinding his teeth angrily.

"Just you watch Link. I'm going to make sure you lose, even if I have to drag the Princess into it!"

A/N: How was it? Please give me a review and let me know! Hmm... it seems like no one really likes Lyson very much. Good. Very good. This should make for some interesting situations. Bwahaha. I have the ending of the fic all planned out!! So if you don't review, we'll never get to the end!


	11. Nayru's Search

Yay! I updated! Aren't we all happy? No? OK. Anyway. YAY! I got lots and lots of reviews! The most I've had so far methinks! THANK YOU! I SHALL WORSHIP ALL OF YOU! Ehhh... School is horrible! Sniff... So much work... I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! And I went on vacation so... yeah... Plus, I've been only slightly occupied by Fire Emblem recently... Anyway...

I shall have to apologize in advance for this chapter. Some of you might not like the results too much... Sorry! But I really like the fact that Lyson's so universally hated. Let's just say that I'm gonna have fun seeing if the opinions change at the end of the fic. Oops! Said a bit much there! On to the fic!

Chapter 11: Nayru's Search

There was no doubt about it. Hyrule's cooks were the finest in the world, and with so many of them collaborating on a single banquet, the results were well beyond praise. Finding Kira quite the suitable replacement for Zelda on his food-hunting excursions, Link dragged the amazed girl through crowds and crowds of starved people. They weaved through long lines, ducked under banquet tables, with Link heaping piles and piles of food onto his tray and into his mouth as they went along. He took care to shovel quite a few choice selections onto Kira's plate and remembered to grab all kinds of carrots and apples for Epona and Areon.

Kira, meanwhile, busied herself by making sure that none of her food fell off her tray and keeping up with Link and his eccentric wanderings. The Hero of Time was gripping her hand rather tightly so that she wouldn't get lost in the crowd, and she noticed that many of the girls who noticed the detail had their faces convoluted into interesting expressions. Of course, Kira couldn't blame them at all for their little obsession, but their expressions WERE funny. "Link," she ventured. "Do you always have all these girls after you?"

"Yeah. But they're not that bad. They can't really do anything life-threatening. Wait 'til you see Ruto," Link answered nonchalantly, grabbing a piece of cake.

"Ruto?"

"You'll see."

Almost immediately, Kira found herself thrown backwards by some unseen force. Barely managing to keep all of her food from falling, she looked up to see a pair of arms embellished with fins wrapped around Link's neck.

"Um... hi Ruto," said Link with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

"Hi Link! It's been so long! A week? Two weeks? Three weeks? I've lost count!"

Kira traced the voice back to its owner, who she recognized to be a Zora girl, about her and Link's age, wearing only a simple cloak. The Zora was currently smothering Link in a hug, and Link did not seem too happy about his current condition.

"Err... Ruto? I was at Zora's Domain two weeks ago for official business, don't you remember?" Link gasped in relief when he was finally released by the overexcited Zora. Sighing, he turned to Kira. "This is Ruto. She's the princess of the Zoras. Ruto, meet Kira. She's a new friend of ours."

"Nice to meetcha." Kira grinned. "I can't believe I'm meeting another princess."

Ruto smiled back. "Being a princess sucks. Trust me, it does. But if Zelda trusts you then I know that I can too." A mischievous glint came into her eyes as she added, "Just be sure you stay away from my fiancée."

Link blushed furiously as he insisted, "Ruto! I didn't know back then! You know I can't!"

"Sure Linky. Whatever you say. I have to go now. Before the guards find out I'm gone. Bye Link! Bye Kira! It was nice meeting you!" The princess turned and disappeared into the crowds within a matter of seconds, leaving only Kira and Link with their trays.

"Fiancée?" Kira asked curiously. "Was she the same Ruto you and Zelda were talking about that night?"

"Um... long story. Why don't we go find somewhere to eat?"

"If you want, I guess. But why won't you tell me?"

Link blushed again at that. "Just 'cause," he answered with a grin.

A few minutes later, Link and Kira were sitting in the shade of a tree just outside the stadium walls, enjoying a quiet lunch. Zelda was nowhere to be found, most likely stuck under strict supervision lest some maniac decided to perform an assassination. Areon and Epona were nearby, grazing quietly.

"Y'know something Link?"

"What?"

"I wanna cook like this someday."

Link laughed. "Why? I'm sure Zelda can arrange something so the castle kitchens will always be open for you. Like a couple of important sounding titles. How 'bout... The Lady of a Little Room in Hyrule Castle?"

"For your information, it's not LITTLE. It's about as big as yours. And I wanna cook so I'll always be able to eat what I wanna eat. Not the disgusting "specialties" that they serve."

"Well... if you put it that way... but I'm gonna stick with the cooks."

"Are you saying you think I won't be good enough?" Kira asked, indignant.

"Nah. I'm saying I KNOW you won't be good enough."

"Link!"

"Kidding."

After a few more moments of quiet eating, Link broke the silence by saying, "Know what? I think you've made a huge improvement."

Kira looked up from her plate. "Improvement?"

"Eh well... you know... No more crying. No more um... self-abuse with words... And you've been a lot more happier, I think." Link finished with a sheepish grin.

"If you say so... Thanks..."

"Heh. Boy do I feel like an idiot now."

Kira snickered. "You are."

"Hey! Have you been taking lessons from Zelda or something?" Link asked, trying to look as serious as possible, and failing miserably.

"Ya think?"

The Hero of Time sighed. "Great. Now you're becoming sarcastic too. Why is everyone becoming sarcastic? The first time I met Zelda I thought she was really nice and sweet."

"And pretty and wonderful and absolutely the best in the world, am I right?"

Link opened his mouth to say something, but the booming sound of a tolling bell silenced his words. All Kira could make out was the word, "No" and Link's face turning very very red. She grabbed her weapons and mounted Areon, who had trotted over when the bell rung. Link followed suit and soon the two were headed toward the stadium, ready for the next challenge.

Again, the arena was full of people, each jabbering excitedly to others. Link and Kira rode through the crowd with some difficulty, but eventually they were able to reach the podium where the other contestants were gathered. A few familiar castle staffers were there, but the King and Zelda were nowhere to be found. Soon, however, blaring trumpets announced the arrival of the ruler of Hyrule, followed by his beloved daughter. Link waved cheerily to Zelda, as did Kira. King Harkinian walked to the edge of the dais, held his hand up for silence, and, when the crowd had quieted down, began, "I sincerely hope that lunch was more than satisfactory."

Murmurs of agreement from everyone prompted the King to raise his hand again. "Now that all of the contestants are here, I would like to congratulate you for the fine race you have given us. I presume that our next competition will be just as exciting. Zelda, would you like to do the honors?"

The Princess of Hyrule stepped forward. "Yes, Father," she announced in a soft tone. Then, turning to the crowd, "Contestants, your next trial, and the last one of the day, is... a treasure hunt!"

Unbelieving whispers rose among the spectators as everyone looked at each other, surprised that there was to be a childish game in such an important event as this contest. Zelda smiled and held up her hand for silence. When the crowd had given her their full attention, she continued, "But it won't be a conventional treasure hunt. We've outfitted one cucco with a blue headdress. Your goal is to find that cucco."

Whispers started up among the crowd again, as Zelda held up her hand for silence once more. "The problem is... there are fifty other cuccos running around our set perimeter. Which, by the way, stretches from Kakariko to Lon Lon Ranch with about five miles on each side. The cuccos are perfectly capable of hiding in trees, under crates, and in various other hiding places. And... you have 'til an hour after sundown, which is in... oh about a couple hours. Does that sound like enough of a challenge?" she smiled and winked at Link.

The Hero of Time grinned back, only to receive a nudge from Kira moments later. "What?" he whispered.

"Told ya."

"Wha-?"

Kira sighed dramatically. "Boy are you clueless."

"Maybe I'm just trying to avoid answering."

"Maybe."

Blaring trumpets disrupted their little conversation as a knight yelled out an order over the cacophony of the crowd. "Are all of the contestants mounted and ready?"

He waited for a moment before continuing, "Then on your mark... Get set... GOOOO!"

Thundering through the wide arch of the stadium opening, all of the remaining teams who hadn't given up after the race directed their horses toward the wide-open plains of Hyrule Field, all hoping for a quick victory. For no one wished to be caught outside after the sun set. After all, the field's many mysterious inhabitants were mostly nocturnal, very deadly, and the likes of which pretty much never seen by normal citizens of Hyrule.

Shortly after leaving the protective gates of the stadium, Link discreetly called Kira over to him. The two waited for the remaining straggling teams to split up and gallop off in different directions, and when the coast was clear, Link revealed his battle plan. "You have that flight spell, right? I was thinking you could do a quick survey of the terrain from the sky. You know, see if you can find anything special where a cucco could hide."

Kira nodded in reply. "Sure. But if my magic runs out..."

"Got that covered. Here. Take this bottle. It's got some Blue Potion in it." Link fished out a bottle filled with a thick blue solution from his pack and handed it to Kira, who took it gratefully.

"Thanks! But isn't this a little... well... expensive?"

"No problem. Living with the royal family has its rewards."

Kira nodded, satisfied with the answer. Gingerly placing the container into her satchel, she gripped her staff tightly with both hands and whispered a few soft words to the wind, closing her eyes at the same time. The large pearl glowed brightly for an instant, as two large wings sprouted from her shoulder blades. With a bound, she shot up toward the sky, waving cheerily at Link. The Hero of Time waved back and reached over to pat Epona's head. Hopefully, it wouldn't be a long wait.

Gazing down at the miles and miles of green from the sky, and making sure that no one with a perverted mind would be able to get a good look up her tunic, Kira squinted her eyes, checking for any sign of motion. Other than the occasional contestant checking under a rock, the fields were still and silent. Glancing back and forth along her range of vision, she noticed a few white dots, which, when observed closer, turned out to be normal cuccos.

_Just a bit farther. Almost out of magic._

Flapping her wings silently and catching the breeze, she glided on for a few more minutes, checking all the while for any sign of the special cucco. But her efforts turned out fruitless, for no matter where she looked, she was only greeted by the ocean of green that was Hyrule Field. Turning back somewhat unhappily, Kira was just about to mentally prepare another strategy before a sudden flash of blue diverted her attention. She looked around eagerly, trying to uncover the source. There! There it was again! The blue flash! And it was coming from the top of a... tree?

A quick glance confirmed her suspicions. The special cucco was indeed sitting on top of a tree, looking more than a little distressed. Aware of the potential dangers of an irate cucco but still happy with her unexpected discovery, Kira dove toward her find. "Here cucco. Good cucco. Good um... girl." Relieved at being saved from its uncomfortable perch, the cucco willingly jumped into Kira's arms and cooed cheerfully, rubbing its headdress against Kira's face. The girl grinned at her new charge. "Boy is Link gonna be happy when he sees you," she remarked, landing on the ground for a quick Blue Potion recharge.

"Hold on a minute there. I think that chicken belongs to me."

Kira looked up, surprised by the regrettably familiar voice. "Lyson."

The prince smirked. "Glad you remember my name. Now hand that cucco over or else."

"Why should I? I found it and I'm taking it back to Link. Not like you can do anything about it."

Lyson smirked again, though this time it was somewhat forced. "Oh yeah? Srie! Teach that little whelp a lesson!"

The Calatian knight nodded and brandished his axe. It was still coated with dried blood, flakes of which were constantly floating off. Kira gulped and tried to bound into flight. She managed to get a few feet off the ground, before falling back with a heavy thump. Her wings dissolved into thin air, and to her dismay, the cucco, frightened by the commotion, flew out of her arms, only to be seized by Lyson and stuffed into a sack.

"Hey! Give it back!"

"Why should I? I found it and I'm taking it back to Zelda." Lyson mocked, using the exact same words Kira had used only a moment before.

Srie, the Calatian knight, was still advancing, and with his next step, he grabbed Kira roughly by the throat. The bottle of Blue Potion in her satchel fell to the ground, and... shattered. The girl struggled in the knight's firm grasp, but to no avail. She tried to draw her sword and staff, only to find them cruelly grabbed from her hands. Tears came to her eyes as she watched the potion leak out from the shattered pieces of glass, watched her last chance of escape trickle into the earth.

_Link... Zelda... Where are you? You... you said you would be my friends... And... and..._

"That's enough."

With Lyson's order, Srie released his grip on Kira, who collapsed heavily on the hard earth, gasping for breath. Stars burst in front of her eyes, as the soft green grass before her seemed to grow fuzzier and fuzzier. She could barely make out Lyson's voice, an unwelcome reminder that she had not lost consciousness yet.

"You know, Srie. I think I like you better like this. You used to be all kind and warm to everything and have objections whenever you felt your orders would cause harm to others. But now you'll follow my instructions no matter what they might be. I like it. I like it a lot. A job well done, Srie."

Kira grimaced at Lyson's "speech." What kind of person would delight in hurting others? But if what Lyson said was true, than that Srie person wasn't so bad after all. But what could have caused the complete turn around of personality? She didn't have much time to ponder over the possibilities, as she felt her staff and sword tossed carelessly on her head. Kira looked up to see the Prince of Calatia's smirking face.

"I don't need a pathetic little peasant's weapons. They're probably all dull and broken anyway." Lyson sneered, turning to face Srie. "Tie her up. If all those stories are true, then those monsters will be in for a feast. I'm heading for the castle. Return to me when you're done."

Her heart pounding, Kira tried to get up and run, only to be met by a gauntleted hand, which shoved her back into the ground. She could hear the sound of hoof beats pounding further and further away as Lyson galloped his poor horse back to the castle to claim his prize. Srie wasted no time in getting to his work, despite Kira's screams and thrashings. He was almost done with his job when an arrow lodged itself into the earth next to him, ice spreading from its point.

"Let her go." Another arrow lodged itself next to Srie, this time far to close for comfort. The knight got up from his crouching position, giving Kira a good view of the situation. She was glad to see Link, glaring at the Calatian knight with hardened eyes and stringing another arrow to his bow.

"That's right. Now back away from her. I don't want to hurt you."

Without a word, Srie backed away from Kira, letting his hands hang loose beside him. The girl thought it was strange that Srie seemed to be focusing on Epona instead of Link.

Keeping his arrow trained on the knight, Link circled his quarry, watching for any sudden movements. "Good. Keep it coming. Keep coming. Kee- Whoa! Epona! What's wrong!"

Suddenly finding himself about to fall due to Epona's rearing, Link was forced to drop his arrow to hang onto his mare's snowy mane. Without missing a beat, Srie drew his axe and charged at the still precariously balanced hero, meaning to take his life with one swift stroke.

Luckily, Link was able to draw his shield at the same precise moment, but the force of metal striking metal was so strong that he toppled off Epona's back, the Gilded Sword jolted out of his hand. He watched in horror as the blood stained axe appeared yet again over his head, almost certain that the unprecedented force behind its deadly blade would be able to cleave his shield in two. Then, he'd have to make a mad scramble for his sword AND he'd also have to worry about replacing his lovely shield. Link sighed in relief as the axe lingered in the air for a bit too long as he used the extra time to roll out of the way and onto his misplaced sword. It looked like his shield would be able to survive for still quite some time.

He bounded nimbly to his feet, the Gilded Sword in his left hand and his Hylian Shield in his right. Link grinned at the seemingly irate knight. He had the perfect strategy and it involved quite a bit of experience with the ever-annoying Iron Knuckles. The Hero of Time kept his gaze focused on his opponent, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

_And here it comes..._

Link was correct in his calculations, for Srie's axe came swinging down upon him soon after. Quickly dodging out of the way, the hero whirled around to be greeted by a welcoming sight. The Calatian knight's axe was stuck in the tree and the poor man was having quite a bit of trouble extracting it. Grinning cockily, Link sauntered up to the knight.

"Don't wanna hurt you. So I'll just do this."

Srie regarded him with an odd look; at least, Link imagined it would have been an odd look, just hidden by the helmet and the darkness engulfing the knight's head. Still grinning, Link held the flat of his blade up to the back of Srie's head, and gave it a good WHACK. The sound of clanging metal accompanied the knight's topple to the ground, as the Hero of Time cheerily struck a silly pose.

"Whoo. That's fun! But why are you always so much trouble?" Link asked, cutting Kira's bonds.

"I- I'm sorry..." Kira looked down at the ground in distress.

"Sorry 'bout what?"

"Well... 'bout your bottle... and... and the cucco..." Kira was nearly in tears.

"The bottle's fine. I have more. But what cucco?"

"I found it... the... the special cucco... and... and they took it!" she sobbed.

A little uncertain about what to do, Link tried his best to calm the girl down. "Hey. Stop crying. It's okay. It's not your fault. Besides, we still have one more competition to go, y'know. It's not over yet." He winked and smiled as brightly as possible.

"I... I guess you're right..."

"I'm always right! Now what about going back to the castle for some food?"

"You're always thinking about food." Kira replied, drying her tears with the back of her glove.

"Eh. Well... Glad to see you back to normal."

"Link?"

"What?"

"Why'd you come here?"

"You were gone too long for comfort, I guess. So I just went off in your direction and you know the rest," he replied, offering her a hand. "Come on up. Epona's strong enough to carry someone else."

"Oh. Thanks." Kira accepted the hero's hand gratefully, but paused before he could help her up. "Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Areon?"

Link waved a gauntleted hand over his shoulder. "Areon? He should be over there somewhere. Isn't he?"

"No."

"Uh-oh. I thought he came with me."

"What if... what if he got hurt?"

"Ah. Don't worry. He's probably back where we started. Near the stadium. Wait a sec. Never mind. Is that him?"

Kira looked over to where Link was pointing and indeed, there was Areon, fast approaching with a figure on his back. "It's Areon! And he's carrying someone!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Link grinned. "Told ya." However, his cheery expression quickly turned to a serious one when he noticed whom the rider was.

"Hi there! This yours?" The figure atop Areon waved.

Kira ran to her stallion's side. "Yes, it is. Thank you for bringing him back to me."

"No problem. He's a very pretty horse." The figure smiled, dismounting.

"Thank you. I'm Kira, by the way."

"I'm Sheik. Nice to meetcha. And well, if it isn't Link."

"Hey Sheik. Long time no see."

Kira glanced back and forth between Link and Sheik. "You're... you're friends? Wow! That's so cool! I didn't know you were friends with a Sheikah other than Impa. At least... You ARE a Sheikah... right?"

Sheik nodded. "Yep."

"WOW! But I've never seen you in Kakariko."

"Ah yes. Well... I come from a different Sheikah village."

Kira was about to ask another question before Link interjected, "Hey Kira? Excuse us for a moment. Gotta talk to Sheik about some... er... guy things..."

"Oh. If that's the case, go right on ahead. I'll head back to the stadium with Areon and see if I can find Zelda."

Link smiled, relieved at her answer. "Yeah. See you there." When he was certain that Kira was out of hearing range, he turned to Sheik and asked worriedly, "Zelda, you know that was a huge risk you just took, right? What if she didn't believe you were "from another Sheikah village?" And what are you doing here anyway?"

Sheik grinned. "Relax. If she had suspected something, I probably would have just shown her. I'm pretty sure we can trust her. I don't have the Triforce of Wisdom for nothing, after all. And as to your second question, Areon brought me here. I don't know why, but I'm also pretty sure you can tell me."

"Alright. This may come as a shock, but I think that... well... Lyson just won this contest."

"What? Tell me you're kidding."

Link looked at Sheik seriously. "No. I'm not. Kira told me that she found the cucco, but Lyson took it from her. And to prove it, when I got here, I found that sleeping knight over there tying her up."

"Great. I had my suspicions when I saw Lyson galloping back to the stadium with a bulky sack on my way here. I'll arrange someone to bring Mr. Sleeping Beauty back to the arena. But it looks like we're going to have to rely on the next competition, eh Linky?"

Link's face flushed beet red. "Just count on me! Swordplay IS my specialty. But don't call me that! Where'd you pick up that term anyway?"

Sheik grinned. "Your fiancée."

The Hero of Time sighed. "Figured."

* * *

A/N: Gonna end it here. Hope you like it... Well... I'm off to work on the next chapter! Heehee... ah... don't know what else to say... R/R please! 


	12. Farore's Fight

Haha... I'm baaaaccckkk! I'm really really REALLY sorry for not updating for so long! I had a really serious case of writer's block for this chapter... It was... bad... My ideas for this fic are very... scattered... But I DO have an awesome idea for the next few chapters, then my mind's blank for the following ones, then I have a REALLY awesome idea for the end... --' Yeah... But I WILL finish this! MUST FINISH. Got an awesome FE fic idea... Will post that soon too! Won't neglect this fic though... My first fic... how could I ever neglect it? I'm gonna try something new with this chapter... OK, so it's not _really _new, but still! I'm gonna try and um... just kinda describe what happened in part of the chapter, like a reporter maybe? Dunno... Argh! I'm not making any sense, am I? --'

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Reviews make me really happy! Yessee... this chappie will have some character development, more Link/Zelda matchmaking fun, some more surprises, another little mystery, and a fight scene! On with the fic!

Chapter 12: Farore's Fight

Lyson was mad. No, he wasn't just mad. He was _mad_, mad enough to tear that stupid Link apart from limb to limb and knock all his teeth out. The prince of Calatia glanced coldly at his loyal follower, Srie, who was staring blankly at the setting sun. The crowds of people had long gone home, and all the competitors were most likely either in the castle rooms allotted to them, or at the training grounds, preparing for the final competition. The two Calatians were the only ones in the stands.

"Idiot. Why don't you remove that armor? You don't have to wear it. The next competition takes place tomorrow."

The knight did not answer, did not even look back at his liege.

"Why must you be so... irritating? You were quiet before, but never this quiet! What's wrong with you now? You... you... WORTHLESS..." Lyson's voice grew louder with each word.

Srie merely looked at the ground.

"Fine! Ignore me! But if you... if you DARE to mess up tomorrow... I swear that I will personally see you quartered and hanged. And I'll have your head up on a pike for all the peasants to see what the price of disobedience is." Lyson spat at the knight's armor, turned around and headed back to his room at the castle.

Srie did not budge, did not respond. He merely stared back at the setting sun, watching the moon and the stars gradually appear in the darkening sky, as if he were waiting, waiting for the darkness, for the shadows, for the night...

Bright and early the next day, the stadium was again filled with excited onlookers, all eager to witness for themselves just how well the weapon arts of Calatia would fare against the multitude of differing techniques practiced by the races of Hyrule. The spectators whispered excitedly among themselves; many gesturing at a large rack of what appeared to be a collection of dull weapons and shields.

There were all sorts of swords, ranging from thin rapiers to curved scimitars to long broadswords. An entire section of the rack was dedicated to axes, some with long handles for greater reach; others with short handles for more control. Some people pointed excitedly to an extensive display of spears and lances, while others admired the many different sizes and shapes of the various shields lying on the rack.

Trumpets heralded the arrival of the Royal Family and the competitors, who were greeted with wild cheers. The King of Hyrule dismounted his horse and walked up the stairs of the podium with Zelda. Once there, he took a good look at the gathered crowds, cleared his throat, and began.

"This... is the day you have all been waiting for, am I correct?"

The crowd erupted into cheers, some rooting for certain contestants, others just randomly screaming and waving.

King Harkinian smiled. Never had an event attracted so much attention. Though it was probably just due to the fact that the people of Hyrule adored contests of power, wisdom, and courage, especially if between one of their own and a famed warrior of another country, the King of Hyrule could not help but feel a certain sense of pride for being able to bring so much of his people together at one little event.

He laughed heartily and continued. "I assume that you all know that today's competition is a weapon usage contest, or should I say... an exhibition of all the different sorts of weaponry mastery. Of course, I am very eager to see what the Prince of Calatia has to offer us."

Lyson smirked confidently as the spectators cheered again, but louder this time. He turned and bowed to Zelda, who was up in the podium, but the princess steadily ignored him.

"I also assume that you realize that all mock battles will be staged with two teams of two fighting each other. All competitors will be allowed a choice from the blunt practice weapons we have saved up specifically for this event. The match will continue until both members of a team have either surrendered or are unable to continue. Injury is not the goal of this competition, but it cannot be prevented. If we do happen to have... accidents, then Hyrule's finest physicians are here on hand. I assure you that the contestants are all in quite capable hands." King Harkinian nodded knowingly to the competitors waiting anxiously in their own fenced-in preparation area, complete with delicately carved marble benches.

"Well then, without further ado, allow me to present to you..."

And that was how the rest of the day was spent, with the king presenting each group of fighters as their turn came, and Zelda congratulating the winners. Even those who had lost were rewarded with a token of appreciation, a small bronze medallion with the Hylian crown symbol engraved on it. Everyone accepted his or her gifts and congratulations quite graciously, all except for Lyson.

The Prince of Calatia mocked his opponents before the match, during the match, and after the match. It was quite fortunate for him that he was actually quite skilled with a sword, or his boasting would have been a very hilarious thing indeed. He and Srie formed a formidable pair, with the knight wearing down their opponents with his ridiculous strength, and the prince stepping in to finish off the tired fighter. However, it was clear that the two could not be defined as a "team" in any way or form. Lyson was always ordering Srie around, but the knight never flinched or seemed angry. The spectators appeared to adore him for that, always cheering for Srie but never for Lyson, which of course, made the Prince of Calatia very very angry.

As the contest proceeded, it soon became clear between which two "teams" the final battle would take place. One of them was the combination of Lyson and Srie, and the other was, of course, the team of Hyrule's very own beloved hero, Link, and Kira. If Lyson's and Srie's matches had been amazing, then Link's and Kira's were downright spectacular, mostly due to Link's swordsmanship, of course.

Even without the Gilded Sword, the Hero of Time was an unbelievably good swordsman, winning matches without hurting his opponents at all. He blocked or dodged all of their attacks, almost if he knew their every move ahead of time. And when they let their guard down, even for just a split second, he had his sword at their necks, effectively ending the match. It was a risky move, one that a less experienced swordsman would surely have botched, but Link's control over his weapon was so fine-tuned that he could stop his blade within a hairsbreadth of his opponents' skin, even if that very same blade had been in a powerful swing only moments before.

Kira was not nearly as skilled with a sword as Link, but she made a decent partner for him, defeating weaker opponents and distracting stronger ones long enough for Link to finish the match. The Hero of Time was grateful for her assistance, but he was sure that he would have been more grateful if it wasn't for Kira's endless teasing every time they won a match. The girl truly believed that Zelda would always congratulate her hero with "a special look," reserved only for him, and being the dedicated matchmaker that she was, would start to point at Link and laugh.

Needless to say, Link was very embarrassed by that, especially when the teasing took place in front of the crowds... and _Ruto_. The crowds, like all other crowds, were _very_ fond of gossip, so it didn't take long for them to come to a conclusion about their princess and hero. Ruto... Link didn't even want to think of what Ruto would be doing. He tried not to maintain eye contact with the Princess of the Zoras, but it _was _rather hard resisting the urge to look for the source of the loud "Linky-poo! Over here, Linky-poo!" that was... broadcast over the crowds every time he and Kira won a match. Yes, the gossip was _much_ better. Of course, even if he denied it publicly, Link didn't mind the gossip much at all, as long as it didn't go too far... After all, Zelda _was_ very pretty...

_Wait! What am I thinking?_

The Hero of Time shook his head lightly, trying to clear his mind of his... very uncharacteristic yet pleasant... thoughts. Kira had been unusually quiet during the latest round of congratulations, and she hadn't made a single noise after she softly accepted Zelda's praises. Suspecting that the problem had something to do with the fact that their next opponents were Lyson and Srie, Link soon found the reason why.

Sitting all alone on a marble bench in the corner was Kira. She was absentmindedly polishing her Triforce pendant with her sleeve, eyes staring blankly at the shiny golden trinket. Link sauntered over and sat himself down next to her.

"Nervous?" Link asked.

Kira nodded.

"There's no reason to be. You're doing perfectly fine. The goal isn't to kill, remember? Don't have to worry, you know."

Kira slowly looked up at Link. "But I just feel so... anxious... I don't know why; I'm always so scared whenever I have to face a problem... I can't help myself..." She looked down at her pendant again.

Thinking for a moment, the Hero of Time asked, "Well, why don't we discuss a strategy instead? Help you take your mind off the stress?"

"Sure..."

Link grinned. "Right. I've got it all planned out. You take on Lyson. I think you'll be able to match him. Try to wear him out. I'll come and help you as soon as I take care of that lumbering hunk of armor."

Kira looked up again. "Al... Alright. I'll try... But what if-"

"What if we can't beat them? Hey! Are you doubting my prowess as the number one hero in Hyrule?"

"Link... But this is so much more dangerous than the other contests... There's no guarantee that we won't get hurt... we might even be..."

"Killed? Like I told you, we're not supposed to kill. Of course, I can't be sure of Lyson's intentions, but think about it. What if we don't even attempt to win in this competition? Then wouldn't we just be letting Lyson get what he wants? And there's no way I'm letting him lay his dirty, grimy paws on Zelda." Link clenched his fists tightly; just thinking about the Prince of Calatia made him angry.

Kira smiled, a somewhat evil glint in her eye. "You're being really protective now... See? I _knew_ you liked her!"

Caught unawares by that comment, Link stuttered, trying to think up a reasonably good answer. "No! That's not true! I'm just... I... I... um... It's cause I'm a knight! Yeah! And we knights have to protect our liege, you know."

"That's a stupid reason." Kira looked away again, seemingly still distressed at the thought of fighting their toughest opponents yet.

"But it _is_ true. And I'm glad that you're not so nervous anymore. You have to be sure of your every action, and you can't hold back just because you're scared. That's no way to triumph in a swordfight. So why don't we get out there and win? That'll solve everything."

"Thanks, Link. Thanks for making me not so nervous anymore... I get so... frightened... whenever I face a problem I can't solve..."

The Hero of Time grinned and answered, "It's nothing. But we really must work on that courage of yours... Maybe Zelda can help you get a bit more confidence. I wish I could help, but it's best left to a girl..." He turned his head toward the sky, trying to look as thoughtful as possible.

"Are you trying to hint at something?"

"'Course not. Now why don't we go and crush Lyson's fantasies?"

"Sure!"

Both Hylians picked up their respective contest weapons and headed for the mock battlefield. Lyson and Srie were already there, and upon Link and Kira's arrival, both teams took their places on either side of the field. The judge had left to get a drink of water, so there was nothing left to do but stare at each other. Kira felt confident and cheerful; thanks to the talk she had had with Link just a few minutes before. Moments later, she found the temporary courage Link had given her quickly dispersing under the unnerving faceless stare of Srie. Luckily, before she descended into a state of panic, Kira remembered what Link had suggested to relieve her tension previously to the match. She tried to muse over other things.

She first attempted to figure out Lyson's motives for being so... well... mean, for lack of a better way to put it. Recognizing that it was impossible to do, Kira decided that Lyson was just annoying and mean for the sake of being annoying and mean, even though she wished he wasn't.

_It would have been fun to make friends with a Calatian prince..._

Kira looked over at Link, who was engaged in a vicious staring match with Lyson. She sighed.

_Then again... There's always the problem of loving Zelda..._

Suddenly, the voice of the judge disrupted her thoughts, and Kira realized with a grin that she had just, for the first time, stopped herself from panicking. She was ready for this match and anything that would happen!

"Begin!" the judge shouted, and a split second later, both teams were hurling themselves toward each other, weapons at the ready.

Just as they had planned before, Link immediately attacked Srie, leaving Kira to deal with Lyson. He noticed a quick look of surprise on the prince's face before directing all his attention toward the Calatian knight. Srie was on the offensive, so the hero decided to take a defensive position, to see if he could wear the knight out. After a few dodges and rolls, Link chanced a quick glance at Kira and Lyson. She was holding her own, blocking all of Lyson's blows, but he wasn't sure how long she would be able to endure. The Hero of Time jumped out of the way just in time to avoid Srie's axe. The knight was swinging the weapon with all his might, bringing it down heavily on the ground every time, with a force strong enough to cleave a wooden shield in half and seriously dent an iron one.

But that was also his weakness. Srie needed a lot of time to wind up before each swing, thus allowing Link to dodge all of his blows with relative ease. The Hero of Time couldn't help but picture the knight as an Iron Knuckle; the styles of fighting were rather similar. He would have to question Srie about it after the match. Rolling out of the way of yet another axe swing, Link shifted his glance toward Kira to see how she was doing with Lyson. What he noticed was not exactly heart-warming...

He had to finish off the knight... and fast. Link could see that Kira couldn't hang in much longer; she was starting to falter under Lyson's relentless barrage of sword swings and thrusts. Added to her dilemma was the fact that Lyson was constantly belittling her sword-wielding skills. It was obvious that the insults were taking effect, as the girl flinched noticeably at every comment thrown at her. Link grit his teeth and turned back to face Srie. He would deal with _that_ problem later.

After "reviewing" all of his past experiences with Iron Knuckles in his mind, Link decided that he was extremely happy he had chosen a wooden shield instead of an iron one. Quickly devising a solution to his current predicament, the hero changed his grip on his shield from a sturdy grasp to a more impractical position. Ignoring the spectators' frantic screams for him to change his grip back to his original one, Link steeled himself for Srie's next blow. Just as the Calatian knight brought his axe down... hard... Link threw his shield at the incoming weapon. As he had expected, the iron axe cut through the wood cleanly and easily. There was, of course, an added bonus, something that Link had predicted would happen, and did happen. Srie stopped for a moment, both surprised and shocked that his opponent had just given up his own shield. That moment was all that Link needed. Stepping behind Srie, Link struck the base of the knight's helmet with a vicious blow, just as he had done before. And just like last time, the Calatian fighter fell to the ground with a heavy thud, completely out cold.

Thrilled with his victory, Link quickly turned his sights on Lyson, who had now almost entirely overpowered Kira. Knowing full well that the Prince of Calatia was a worthy swordsman in his own right, Link approached the battle cautiously. Lyson had noticed his knight's unfortunate fall, and was cursing readily. Seeing Link advancing did not allay his temper in any way. He had originally planned on letting Srie crush the girl so he could have a one-on-one match with the annoying peasant called Link. And even though his plans had been destroyed, Lyson was still set on having his way. Especially if that way would bring him closer to gaining Zelda's affection. The prince held up his hand, signaling that he wanted a pause in the action. Both Link and Kira stared at him confusedly, but obeyed the rules of the competition anyway. Lyson turned to the judge of the match, a strange glint in his eye.

"Your Honor. I would like to have a single match with that... Link," he stated as sweetly as he could manage.

The judge looked at King Harkinian, confused. No one had foreseen this... complication, and the judge had no idea how to deal with it. The king debated over it for a few moments before nodding to the judge, who, in turn, agreed to Lyson's request and announced it to the spectators.

The stadium was silent as Link and Lyson took their places on either side of the mock battlefield. Kira reluctantly allowed a soldier to lead her off the field, but she just had to smile when she noticed Zelda's worried expression as the princess kept her eyes glued on Link.

A drum sounded, and the match began.

The two swordsmen circled each other, each looking for an open spot. Lyson lunged first, thrusting his sword violently at Link. With a quick sidestep, the Hero of Time dodged the attack and retaliated with one of his own, which Lyson blocked. Then, the Prince of Calatia launched into a flurry of rapid sword strokes, with Link blocking each one as it flew at him. The final one, however, caught him off guard, and the hero was barely able to twist out of the way. He felt the cool metal of the sword glide by his shoulder, and was surprised to feel something wet and warm trickle down his arm soon after.

_Blood... But... the blade should be dull! And there wasn't enough force for it to cut! Unless..._

Link stared at Lyson murderously, who smirked and held up his sword for Link to see. There, on its blade, was the faint trace of the red of blood... and the Hero of Time knew instantly what had happened.

_That dirty little... He somehow either sharpened his blade before the match or got another sword!_

The judge had uttered no complaint, a sure sign that he had not noticed. Knowing all too well that protesting would be futile, Lyson would find a way to deny everything, Link clenched his teeth shut and decided to continue with the match. It wouldn't be the first time he had fought on with an injury and it definitely wouldn't be the last. The Prince of Calatia smirked again and brought up his sword for another round of attacks.

This time, however, it was Link who struck first. Catching Lyson completely by surprise, Link knocked the offending weapon out of the prince's hands with one swift blow. He then proceeded to wrestle Lyson to the ground, and ended the match with his sword tip barely touching the Prince of Calatia's throat. The crowds roared with wild cheering as Link smirked at Lyson, just as the prince had done before.

Trying his best to block out the shouts of the onlookers, Link whispered quietly, almost inaudibly, into the ear of a still shocked Lyson, "You thought you had won... and that was all that I needed."

Releasing his grip on the prince, Link stood up and turned toward the podium, crashing into Zelda by doing so. Both hero and princess blushed, but Zelda recovered faster, leading Link excitedly toward the raised dais where the king and Kira were waiting.

Zelda smiled at her hero while holding his hand up in the air to force him to wave to his fans. "Link! You had me so worried!" she exclaimed.

"Ah... you didn't have to. Didn't you think I could win?" Link grinned back, still blushing, but remembering to hide his wound from Zelda.

"Of course I knew... but I still don't want you hurt, _you_ know that, don't you?"

"Yeah... Um... Thanks for caring." With that, the conversation ended as the two reached the podium, the spectators still wildly cheering, and the competitors happily clapping.

King Harkinian smiled at Link as he approached. "Ah Link. You have done Hyrule proud. And you too Kira."

Both young Hylians bowed slightly at the compliment, and Zelda beamed at her father. The King of Hyrule continued, "Therefore, as a reward for your grea-"

Lyson's shrill and indignant voice interrupted the king's words as spectators, contestants, and Royal Family alike stared at the prince, annoyed. "Your Majesty! They cheated! I demand a rematch!" Lyson practically screamed as he ran up the stairs of the podium, panting.

The King of Hyrule took matters into his own hands. "Prince Lyson. I saw no such thing, nor did the judges notice any peculiarities about your match. You did a splendid job; that is certain, but this competition has been won by Sir Link and Lady Kira. You will not dispute against that any longer."

Lyson looked as if he were ready to murder someone. "My father shall hear about this! Just you watch!"

"Hyrule and Calatia have enjoyed a friendly relationship for hundreds of years. Your father, King Cirlatan, will see no reason to threaten that relationship. So I must apologize, but Prince Lyson, your threats will do you no good at all. I suggest you retire to your room to think this carefully over."

Lyson stormed angrily off the podium, muttering curses and threats of revenge under his breath. Srie followed him sullenly for a while, then headed off into a small thicket. King Harkinian turned to Zelda and smiled sweetly. "Zelda, will you greet your knight?"

The Princess of Destiny blushed fiercely and faced Link, who turned red immediately. Kira, standing off at one side, giggled silently until both princess and hero glared at her. She looked away, trying to contain her merriment.

"Link, no... _Sir_ Link... for your great achievements and as the male member of the winning team, I proclaim you... the guest-of-honor at the annual ball which will be held in a few weeks!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as Link gently took Zelda's gloved hand into his own and slowly leaned to place a tiny kiss on the back of her hand. The princess of Hyrule turned beet red, but beamed at her hero, who returned her smile. They were hesitating about what to do next before Kira grabbed both their hands and grinned.

"Come on you two lovebirds! We have to go get you two ready for the big dance! I can't wait to see what you're gonna wear!" she announced excitedly, dragging them off the podium in the direction of the castle, despite their protests.

And in the wildly cheering stands, a lone figure, cloaked from head to toe, smirked.

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A/N: So... the competition is finally over! And the ball's coming next! With its share of surprises, of course. Any ideas who the "lone figure" is? Does anyone still want to guess who the "antagonist" of this fic is? Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I suck at writing fight scenes, don't I? Anyway... Please R/R!


	13. Mysteries and Intrigue

I'd like to thank everyone for your reviews. This is DEFINITELY the most I've ever received, both in amount and in the number of different people who reviewed! Thank you!

Alright... this is the chapter where I'm going to start umm... introducing some more ideas and things that the game doesn't have... but don't worry... nothing will contradict the stuff that's already in the game... and nothing will be so powerful that it'll completely destroy the stuff that's in the game so err... if you don't like it... and think that it's un-canon... then just pretend that it's AU, 'k?

Wow... it's so hard to write stuff without the faces... Anyway... so yeah... watch the plot advance a bit more... watch some more mysteries unfold... and enjoy!

Chapter 13: Mysteries and Intrigue

Link sighed to himself as he took the final step out of the castle courtyard, heading toward the stables. Kira and Zelda were still in the princess' room, planning for the ball. Well, Zelda was the one doing most of the planning; Kira was merely agreeing with everything. He was lucky that they had not noticed him slipping out the door.

_Why do they have to plan now? I mean... isn't the ball in a few weeks? There's plenty of time._

The Hero of Time shrugged and continued on his way, nonchalantly tossing an apple up and down in the air. Epona would be so happy to see him; she always did love his occasional visits, especially when treats were involved, and she always had a violent welcome prepared for those special times. Link smiled at the thought, but he could think of no better way to thank the mare for trying so hard to help him win. Besides, he could always clean up afterwards.

Deep in thought, Link rounded the final corner separating him from his destination... and froze in shock. The stables were in ruins! The ceiling had caved in; pretty much every gate or door was limply hanging to the side; horses were neighing wildly and stamping their hooves, with stablehands and soldiers frantically trying to calm them down. Rushing in, the Hero of Time grabbed the closest soldier to ask for an explanation.

"What happened? What caused this?" he questioned.

The soldier turned his face toward Link, eyes flashing with fear. "Th- The Calatian knight... he... he ran in here and g- got his black stallion and then he started swinging his... his axe around an- and he... he..." The man pointed a finger shakily toward the direction of the stadium. "He... went..."

Link released his hold on the soldier before the man could finish. Grabbing the knight's sword and ignoring the man's complaints, he marched to Epona's stall, fully aware of what he needed to do.

Deftly sidestepping several vicious hoof-blows, Link quietly approached his horse and ruffled her mane. "Epona, I'm here, girl. Don't worry..." he whispered soothingly to the panicking mare, petting her on the head. It was not long before Epona whinnied softly in response, and nudged her rider affectionately.

Link grinned. "So... you want to go and help me find the person who did this?"

The mare bobbed her head eagerly.

The Hero of Time grinned again and mounted Epona. "Alright then; c'mon girl! Let's go find that knight!" he exclaimed.

Epona needed no further urging as she charged toward the exit, nearly running over several unsuspecting stablehands and soldiers in the process.

Once they were a good distance away from the stables, Link discovered a trail of heavy hoof-prints leading to the stadium, most likely from the knight's black stallion. He urged Epona to follow the prints and scanned the road in front for any signs of the Calatian.

It did not take him long to sight the stallion, quietly standing next to the stadium wall, its coat glistening with sweat. Link directed Epona to a spot a small distance away from the other horse, dismounted, and silently walked toward the black stallion, sword held tightly in his hand. He scratched the horse behind its ears to assure it that he was merely a friend, and then quickly glanced around for Srie.

_The man has to be around here; he can't have gotten far, especially with all that armor..._

A small flash of bright light emitting from a nearby bush soon attracted his attention. The Hero of Time clenched his sword tighter, and inched toward the source of the light. Once he was close enough, he peeked over the tangled foliage, only to see a large cloaked figure kneeling with its back toward him, an axe off toward its side. It seemed to be mumbling something to a... large Guay perched on its arm.

_What is he thinking? Guays are not... things that can be trusted! Unless..._

Too late did Link notice that the Guay had caught sight of him. The bird let out a few horrible screeches and rapidly flew away while the figure stood up and turned to reveal... a cloaked object that seemed to be lacking a head.

The Hero of Time stepped out from behind the bush and pointed his sword toward the... former knight. "You... you are not a Calatian knight... Who are you?"

In response, the... figure tossed off its cloak, giving Link a good look at its true contours, a polished suit of armor complete with a helmet with two pointed horns - the very monster that the hero had constantly been reminded of, except with a black jewel in its torso.

Without lowering his sword, Link started to circle the creature. "You may be an Iron Knuckle, but I've beat worse than you. There's nothing stopping me from killing you," he threatened.

The Iron Knuckle did not flinch, did not move. "Death does not scare me," it announced in an empty, hollow tone. "My mission to my master has been complete. Nothing you do now can change that."

Link kept his attention on the monster. "So... you can talk," he said through clenched teeth. "Answer me this. Where is Srie? The _real_ Srie?"

Even though the creature had no visible face, Link could _feel_ the monster's amusement, could _feel_ its twisted joy in every word it uttered. "Dead. His head skewered from his body by _his_ axe. His corpse tossed in the Lost Woods for the Wolfos to feast upon. A fitting death, don't you think?"

The Hero of Time stared coldly at the Iron Knuckle. It was all he could do to keep himself from throwing his sword at the monster. "Your master," he finally said, changing the topic. "Just who is your master?"

"You do not need to know. He is far more powerful than you ever will be. After all, he was the one who ordered me to kill the knight and take his place in the tournament." Again, more glee and a bit of pride.

Link could not contain his anger any longer. "I don't care if he's more powerful than I am," he stated quietly. "I can not and will not let him take the lives of any more innocents."

With that final statement, he lunged for the jewel, driving his sword, or rather, the Hylian knight's sword deep into the target. The black gem exploded almost immediately, the sword shattering with it. The Iron Knuckle did not even have time to react; it let out a final anguished scream before falling to the ground and bursting into flames.

Link let the flames die away before retrieving the broken blade. Holding the hilt in his hand, he looked toward the direction the Guay had flown. "Let your death be a warning to your... master. The Hero of Time will not allow chaos to fall upon Hyrule once again," he told no one in particular, plunging the shattered sword into the ground for effect.

He turned and headed back toward Epona and the black stallion, which seemed a lot less menacing than it had been when it still belonged to the... monster. He rubbed both horses' noses thoughtfully and addressed the stallion. "Y'know... I'm sure Zelda would love to take you in."

At that, the stallion whinnied and nudged the Hero of Time.

"But we have to give you a name," Link continued. "How about... Firen?"

More whinnying and nudging, this time accompanied by some head-bobbing from both sides.

Link laughed as he mounted Epona. "You like it, don't you? Well, let's head for the castle... I have to get that knight a new sword anyway," he said as he directed his mare toward Hyrule Castle, followed by a new stallion friend. Amidst the cheerfulness, no one noticed the Guay from before fly away from the tree it had been hiding in.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the same Guay was sitting on a rock ledge, preening its feathers while a dark figure watched it thoughtfully. "So... my Iron Knuckle was felled... by the Hero of Time, most likely. It will be interesting to trade blows with him..." 

Another figure, cloaked from head to toe, approached the first one. It threw off its cape to reveal a Stalfos. "Master, I have heard from the stadium stands... the Princess of Destiny will be dancing with the Hero of Time at the ball."

The first figure turned toward the Stalfos. "You have done well, Stalfos..."

"Yes, Master... Boss." the Stalfos hissed.

A tiny smirk appeared on the master's face. "But... we can not have anyone else knowing this little... tidbit of information. Can we?"

"No... no... Boss... Me won't tell. Anyone..." the Stalfos stuttered, happy at being entrusted with such valuable information.

Feigning surprise, the master answered, "Oh no. You must have the wrong idea. You see... 'we' does not mean you and me..."

Yet another figure appeared from the shadows. "It means him and _me_," it purred, placing a light hand on the first figure's shoulder, who continued with the interrogation.

"So... you _do_ know what _that_ means; don't you, Stalfos?"

The Stalfos waved its bony arms frantically. "Boss! You can't do this... Boss... you..." A silver dagger cut off its appeal... and its life. The beady red eyes rolled once in the monster's skull before its body was consumed by flames.

The first figure retrieved the dagger as the second figure pretended to look apologetic, "I'm sorry, Stalfos. But this is for your own good. I mean... what's better than a quick, painless death?"

Sliding the dagger into its sheath, the first figure turned to face his companion. "Meira, I do hope you know what you're doing..."

"I do, Skyler. The Hero of Time has the pendant AND the Triforce of Courage. The Princess of Destiny has the Triforce of Wisdom. Now... who do you think would be easier to defeat?"

"The Princess of Destiny, no doubt about that."

Meira rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Exactly. So we use her as bait..."

"I see, Meira. I am so very fortunate to have met you... my future wife."

A bit of hesitation, which Meira quickly covered up. "Of course, Skyler. Of course..." she purred.

Skyler did not notice his "wife's" slip-up, merely drawing his blade again and looking at it hungrily. "And the pendant will finally be mine. It shall finally belong to me, not to that little Hylian runt. It was foolish of our elder to let her have it; it was foolish of him to open our village to those Hylians. But no more! For once again, we shall rule Hyrule... with you, of course, Meira. Perhaps our two races could... work together? After all, we _are_ the... unwanted races of Hyrule... are we not?"

"Yes... yes..." she quickly answered.

However, once Skyler had left the room, Meira grabbed an unlit torch from the wall and stepped toward the other side of the chamber. "But only one of these unwanted races... will rule Hyrule." she whispered to himself, lighting the torch with a bit of magic.

She brought the light up toward a cauldron in the middle of the room, filled with a clear liquid. Looking over the rim, she held the torch before her, illuminating a hazy face with a shock of fiery red hair. "My... love..."

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A/N: Well... umm... the villains have kinda been revealed... I guess... Tell me how you feel about them and your guesses on their identities. The ball's DEFINITELY coming next! Promise! I'm sorry if any of the info on horses is messed up... T-T I don't really have a horse...And I'm also sorry if the description of the Iron Knuckle is messed up too... 'cause I don't really remember their EXACT appearance... T-T Oh and... just so you know... all original names in this are pretty much just random letters thrown together... so... yeah... but a lot of Zelda names are kinda like that too so... don't kill me? Well... review please!


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